Changing Reasons
by awesome-opossium
Summary: LBD universe. Picks up after episode 83- Corporate Interview and finishes until the end of the plot. Darcy is trying to change the reasons why Lizzie Bennet cannot fall in love with him into the reasons why she can't help herself falling in love with him. Has multiple character view points with the events involved. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first fanfiction ever so please don't bite. :) I'm sure my grammar and word usage is incorrectly used, my apologizes. I wrote this 12:30 in the morning. Basically this is how I imagine they're going to wrap up the series. The creator's interpretation of the events will, much likely, be way cooler and more thought of than mine but its worth a shot. :) Enjoy! **

She walked to his office with ease, knowing that they shared the same lunch-time (just a coincidence of course) and further knowing he was about to head down to her office since they were about to have lunch with Fitz and Gigi.

Knocking on the door, Lizzie could hear the surprise in Darcy's voice calling out "come in" and was further greeted with a corresponded look upon his naturally good-looking face. She gave him a big smile that made his stomach flip. These smiles weren't rare, but to be directed at him was.

Darcy stood up from his desk.

"Lizzie, I was just about to head down. You didn't have to come and get me; Gigi already sent me a text."

"I didn't come to get you, I mean, I wanted to talk to with you. Alone." She added this last part with haste as he gave her a questioning look.

"Umm ok, please sit." He offered one of the black leather couches in the middle of the office. She sat down and he walked over to do the same. The distance between them was the same as it would be on the vlogs; there was plenty of room on the couch but this felt natural now.

"I saw the response from the last video; your fans are very...demanding and, analytical, with their 'shipping' and 'mind-reading' with our every move," Darcy said this with his usual faint smile across his lips. Lizzie had recently found this look teasing; she's been wanting to make it spread into something more.

"Oh yeah, they have their ideas alright. They can really get into these sort've things," Lizzie responded. "Sometimes their hunches aren't too off though..." She trailed away with her eyes falling to her hands, not sure what she was implying about this.

Darcy caught on though. He noticed how accurate they were sometimes like when Lizzie touched his shoulder; he used all of his will power to not grab her hand to keep it there…or not to shatter into pieces as he painfully remembered her feelings were not mutual. What she said however, was news to him: he wanted to believe it before this but he didn't want to hurt himself more. Darcy made a mental note to reread the comments and try to figure how many of the guesses weren't that "off". For now he changed the subject, not wanting things to get awkward between them since the silence was slowly sinking in.

"So what did you want to say? I'm assuming it's not the rest of our interview- can't ruin it for the viewers and their thoughts." Darcy said this with a joking smirk- Lizzie was the one to catch on now and smiled again.

"I just wanted to thank you... For everything, really. The day out with Gigi and you was very enjoyable and part one of the interview (she said this with a smirk similar to his) was something I...needed. I haven't had a good laugh in a while."

Darcy's heart was starting to beat faster than it already was when he saw her walk in five minutes ago.

"I mean, it's not that I'm not happy here- I am happy," she says this with a faint laugh. "This place is incredible, how can someone not like it here. (She noticed her rambling and cut to the chase) I-I just don't have too many friends here to really talk too." As she said this, she placed her hand on his knee. She could feel his warmth evaporate into her and the feeling was new but...pleasant. Even though she felt this, she also felt him stiffen- just like the last time when she put her hand on his shoulder.

She decided to quickly let go.

And just like the last time, Darcy used all of his willpower he could muster to react normal to her unexpected touch. Gosh, she was so influential, so eloquent, and yet she had no clue- he hoped she didn't have a clue at least. Darcy couldn't afford to lose her by scaring her off, or scaring himself off for the matter, again.

She said friend; they were friends. This is a step in the right direction. It's small but it's better than Lizzie listing off all the reasons she could never love him, let alone like him.

But Darcy didn't want to be "just friends", he didn't want to be "friend-zoned". He truly, truly loved her and the thought of losing her to another man gave him short but powerful pains in his heart. No, he's trying to change those reasons why she could never fall in love with him into reasons to why she couldn't help herself falling in love with him.

Little did he know that his attempting was working.

"Of course," Darcy replied softly a smile. "I'm always here for you." And placed his hand on her knee, just like she did before, only that he never let go.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry about the long wait for this chapter, I'll be sure to post more frequently with the stories coming up. I'm happy about the response from the first post; maybe posting this fanfiction wasn't such a bad idea after all. :) I've gone a separate way from the episodes now (obviously) I thought of this being the ending before the whole "tape" scandal. As always, sorry for the typos, incorrect grammar, and enjoy! :)**

* * *

"So this new and working-on-improving William Darcy does know how to flirt," Lizzie thought to herself as his hand rested on her knee. It's a good thing that the new and working-on-it-too Lizzie Bennet can as well.

"Even if it leads indirectly to me calling you a newsie?"

Darcy laughed a bit at the quote from earlier this morning. He quoted back, "Even then."

"I also wanted to mention something about that," Lizzie started.

"I'm all ears, Ms. Bennet," Darcy responded dreamily, he said her name ever so soft as it turned into a whisper. Lizzie's heart started beating faster.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry, for the videos. I can be bitter sometimes and, and we didn't necessarily start on the same…page in the beginning. I'm just really sorry for the way I portrayed you previously, in my videos and my thoughts," Lizzie stuttered this all out. She couldn't look him in the eye anymore and started playing with her hands as she felt herself starting to blush. Way to flirt, Lizzie, way to flirt.

Darcy flashed another small smile as he knew what she meant. Well, somewhat of what she meant. Did this mean her feelings have changed for him completely? Did she love him? No, no Darcy was getting ahead of himself here; she just said they were friends a minute ago. But his hand _is_ resting on her freaking knee for crying out loud and she _is_ blushing, this counts for something right? He couldn't get the nerve up to ask her though- he sometimes had a difficulty explaining himself. Darcy knew actions spoke louder than words, and as he said "It's fine, I don't care about that," he started to lean in.

Lizzie understood now. She understood his intentions of leaning in, his thoughts of her, and no matter what she did, these thoughts would never change. She didn't understand his reasoning though. She didn't understand why he still had feelings for her or why he still even talked to her. Most importantly, she didn't understand what her feelings for him were. Lizzie just knew that whatever this was, and what this will be, felt right. She was leaning in as well, closing her eyes.

As she felt his warm breath on her face, as they were _inches_ apart from each other, Kelly Clarkson's 'Miss Independent' song started to play from Lizzie's bag.

Darcy's and Lizzie's eyes both blinked open to look at each other and then the bag. They both quickly moved: Lizzie to her bag and Darcy to the corner of the couch in the opposite direction.

Lizzie knew it was Jane. (she had recently changed Jane's ringtone to 'Miss Independent' from the 'Walking on Sunshine' cover by Aly & Aj after the episode, 'New Jane'. It was getting hard to listen to be reminded of the cheerful song when thinking of Jane after Bing had left.) As Lizzie searched through her purse, cheeks flaming by now, she thought what a weird time for her lovely sister to call her. Not because she was just about to kiss William Darcy but because it was during Jane's work hours.

She pulled out her phone and answered in the most casual voice she could manage at the moment, "Hey Jane, this is some weird timing for you."

"Lizzie you must come home, it's urgent." Jane said in one breath, obviously not hearing what Lizzie said before.

"What do you mean? Is everything ok? Is it Mom and Dad?"

"No…it's Lydia."

"Oh what did she do now?" Lizzie sneered into the phone, her anger rising increasingly. She was about to kiss Darcy. _Darcy. _If you were to tell her that just a few months ago she would've been repulsed but nowadays his lips seemed ever so soft…

"She's gone. Sh-She ran away."

"What?" Lizzie was beyond confused. Why would Lydia run away when Lizzie had already left? "Did she run away to see you again?"

"N-no," Jane sobbed from the phone. "She ran away wi-with George Wi-Wickham."

"What are you talking about Jane?" Lizzie couldn't believe what she was hearing; Lydia did spill water on him…But that was a long time ago, Lizzie was sure she was over him since and she could've sworn he had left town again since December.

"They've been dating for a while now." This hit Lizzie like a dozen of bricks. She found it hard to breathe. "Mom and Dad came home from the store to see her camera st-still still recording in the living room, her phone and everything still left on the coffee table. Th-They called me but I-I haven't heard anything from her."

"So how do they know she left with…_him?" _ Lizzie wasn't standing up but she started to feel lightheaded and dizzy. She was staring at her shoes the whole time and they were starting to appear blurry.

"He was o-over when they left. When they went around looking for her, he was gone from town as w-well. Lizzie you have to come home, I'm on my way to the airport now, I'll be home in a few hours."

"I'll try to get there as soon as I can, it may be a day or two though." And with this Lizzie hung up her phone and stared at it in her hand. How could she have been so stupid? How could Lydia have been so stupid? Why would she date such a monster? Lizzie was lost; she didn't know what to think. All she knew was that she had to go home. Now.

Forgetting that Darcy was still there, she got up and hastily walked to the door to leave. She barely even heard him saying, "Lizzie, stop, what's wrong?" as he grabbed her hand to turn her towards him. (She noticed him now that they were holding hands.)

"Nothing, this is my problem and I need to go. Sorry." She couldn't look him in the eye, not when she was crying.

"This has to be something if it's making you cry," Darcy points out in a soft tone. He's trying to make her look him and tell him what's wrong; he can't stand seeing Lizzie cry, it's breaking his heart. He pulls her into a hug as Lizzie let's her emotions out and starts to sob. Darcy can't help but notice how perfectly she fits into his arms but now was not the time for that. With the same soft voice he says, "Please tell me what's wrong."

"Lydia ran a-away w-with George Wickham. They were d-dating. No one knows w-where they went. I n-need to go home."

Darcy places his chin on her head and rubs her back gently. He knows _exactly _what she's going through and just remembering his pain with Gigi dating George only years before makes his heart start to hurt again. He needed to help her, regardless if it means she'd have to leave him here at Pemberley or, more importantly, leave his arms.

"Ok, we'll get you home by tonight," Darcy leaned back and made eye contact with her and gave her a reassuring look.

"No, no you don't have too, its fine. I'll manage to get there by myself," Lizzie looked up to him and wiped her tears off her pale face.

"No, Lizzie don't, I insist. I'll get you on the next flight out right now."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: The last chapter had a lot of talking so naturally this one has a lot of thinking. Again, sorry for the incorrect grammar. (I'm positive this is a landmine full of it) Enjoy! (if you can, this one's a bit sad in my opinion) **

So it was determined, Darcy was able to book Lizzie a flight and she will return home all within the same day. As he drove her to the airport, he couldn't help but glance at her ever so often to make sure she was alright. Her eyes were less puffy now but still were a bit red and she sat as still as a statue, staring down at her bag on her lap. Even in distress, Darcy couldn't help but feel attracted to her in some way. He wanted to hold her, tell her everything's going to be ok, tell her that he can fix it for her but he couldn't do that. They weren't dating, they were friends; the hug before was friendly (even if either party didn't intent for it to be friendly but rather for more) and he couldn't tell her anything, Darcy wasn't sure what was going to happen or what he could do. He didn't want to break her concentration so he decided not to talk.

Meanwhile in Lizzie land, Lizzie was trying to make sense of well, everything. Why Wickham? Was it to revenge Lizzie? For knowing they had a fling and wanting to prove to Lizzie that she was responsible by maintaining a longer relationship than Lizzie could with the same man? To prove she was the better Bennet sister: the one who everyone loved more? Well if it was for the first reason, Lydia was so very wrong. Maintaining a relationship with someone does take responsibility, yes, but with the _right_ person: not some scumbag like George Wickham.

Maybe someone like…Darcy. He has grown to be charming and caring and thoughtful, after all he was driving her to the airport and paying for her flight and shipping her things. How much more compassionate can you get? And their hug before, in his arms during that time of confusion, everything for a moment felt like it was going to be ok. As long as she was in his arms, she was safe and happy. Why did she feel that though? Why all of a sudden and all so soon? She was obviously feeling something towards him. Was it love? Lizzie could still remember the tingle that went through her body when he reached out for her hand. It certainly wasn't hatred. Could it just be her getting use to being comfortable and friendly around someone she despised only a few months ago? Deep down, she hoped this wasn't the case.

What was she doing- she can't be figuring out her love life in a time like this! Her baby sister was gone! Missing! She needed to figure out a way to get her back safely, apologize to her, and to get George Wickham as far away as possible from her, herself, their family, and, well, Darcy and Gigi too of course.

Maybe if she made a video to Lydia and posted it on her channel? Maybe she would see it…but then again she left her phone at home and Lizzie didn't know what George's motives were. Well of course she knew they were to get back at Lizzie that was crystal clear to her. Was he waiting for Lizzie to make a video calling out for Lydia? Lizzie didn't know. She did know that she was telling herself that too much recently. Fortunate enough, she cried her eyes dry into Darcy's shoulder 45 minutes before. For now being that the video was her only plan, it was the best she could do as they arrived at the airport.

Darcy pulled into the free 15 minute space and took Lizzie's heavier bag of the two. Lizzie appreciated everything from him: the plane ticket, the ride, carrying her bag; she'll never be able to thank him enough. They walked to security and stopped, this is where they had to part their separate ways. Darcy wanted to go with Lizzie to support her but he felt like he would then be intruding and bothersome. It was best to keep his distance for now.

"Here's your bag, Gigi should be at your apartment now packing the rest of your stuff. We'll send it overnight. Let me know if you ever need anything else, you have Gigi's number and there's always social media." He said this with a forced smile; it was hard for him to see the one thing he cared about slip right through his fingers and knowing that he has to be ok with her parting.

"Dar- William, thank you so much for everything you've done. You didn't have to and I'm not sure if I could ever repay for it."

At this she moves in and hugs him. Both of them noticed how well they fit in each other's arms and neither one wants to let go first and break the perfection. Lizzie holds her head with her ear resting on Darcy's chest, listening to his exceedingly slow heartbeat while Darcy rests his chin again on her head. His heartbeat is slow because of how close she, how calming she can be to him, and that she called him 'William' for the first time. However, it was the fact that he knew he would be losing her soon and with every beat his heart cracked a bit more.

Lizzie was going to cry again, she didn't want to leave him. This was silly of course, she knew. He's the CEO of a major company; taking up his lunch break already would mean all of his meetings in the afternoon would jam up. She was just afraid that she might not see him again. Lizzie held in her tears so Darcy wouldn't see and broke the embrace first, collecting her bags, forced a smiled, and walked to go through security.

She turned around to look at him one more time to find him giving one of his soft and caring stares right back at her. Lizzie couldn't hold in her tears anymore and turned the corner to her gate and walked away from him; making his heart shatter into pieces.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Today's episode (85) was amazing, I thought the actresses did an especially incredible job today. I wasn't sure how to end today's chapter so it just sort've ended on its own. Like every other time before, my apologizes for grammar and typos. I'm too lazy to see if each sentence is correct grammar-wise... I only change it if it doesn't make sense in my head. For now my story's just having character development, I want to make sure I capture each character's reaction to the best of my abilities. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

Darcy stood there in the airport for a while. Just like the last time he left Lizzie, he felt broken but now it was a different broken. Last time he was fractured because she didn't love him back, this time it was because she _might've _loved him back. Or, well, going to loving him at least. Liking his presence at the most.

He walked to the window facing her gate and watched as the plane made its way onto the runway and take off, taking Lizzie away from him completely.

"I swear if I ever see that nefarious, malicious pig again I will hurt him. That dickhead, that George Dickham better yet, has gone one too far. It was torturous enough when he hurt Gigi but now he has the nerve to take Lizzie away from me too? I can't take this bastard anymore." Darcy thought to himself, still staring out the window. He slowly went back to his car, losing Lizzie made him feel as though he lost all energy as well.

Darcy got into his car but couldn't turn it on to go. He looked over at the passenger seat; just minutes ago Lizzie was there. Just a few hours ago they were flirting together, she was laughing at his impression of Fitz and he was enjoying every look of her he could steal. He pulled out his iPhone and searched for her last episode, 'Cooperate Interview', and started to watch it again. He couldn't help but smile at the way she looked back at him in the video. They could've worked it out so well, he was just searching for theater tickets for them two as she walked into his office. The video ended and with it his smile had vanished, its crazy how fast things can change within just a day.

Watching the video was a foolish idea, it made his heart hurt more than it already was. He put his phone away while he rested his forehead on the top of the steering wheel. He couldn't do this, he couldn't just give up now. He should be staying strong for Lizzie and for Gigi. The Bennets might not be able to afford a private investigator or a search team for Lydia. Without something like that it might take them even longer to find Lydia and Wickham. Darcy has an idea. It's not the best and maybe George is even expecting him to do it but it's worth a shot nevertheless. With this determination in mind, Darcy starts his car and heads back to Pemberley Digital.

* * *

Lizzie quietly cried as the plane took off, she didn't want the person next to her hate her so early into the flight and tried to muffle her sniffing to the best of her abilities. Maybe it was her head getting to her but she could've sworn she say Darcy looking from the window of the airport before they left the ground. He was so nice to her, so good and yet here she is, never knowing if he still really loved her and never knowing if she loved him back.

"Again," she thought to herself, "now's not the time for thinking about my love life. I need to find Lydia first and get her back home. George could be doing anything to her right now…"

The thought of it made Lizzie wince and cry heavier but still tried to remain quiet. She wasn't going to pain herself by thinking about that or what her feelings for Darcy were now. Pulling out her phone, she thought it was best to see what she had missed from her younger sister's life in the past couple of weeks. Lizzie started at 'Dear Lizzie' worked her way through her sister's past month of vlogging, rewatching them over and over until the flight was over. With every time she saw Lydia being used by George the angrier Lizzie became, the more broken she was becoming. Lizzie could've prevented this, she could've shown Lydia just how evil and cruel this man can be. Most importantly, Lizzie saw how different Lydia was becoming; her personality was changing drastically. As easily as Lizzie could be annoyed by Lydia, this new attitude was much, much worse than her old self and Lizzie could see she'd take the old Lydia over this new one any day.

When Lizzie's flight finally landed at the airport, Jane was already there waiting for her. They hugged each other for a while, both noticing the other one's eyes were puffy and red, and knew that they had to remain strong for their parents. Well, their mom to be more specific; she was horrified that her favorite daughter had ran away and yet she wasn't all that concerned because her favorite daughter ran away with a _man_.

They drove back home only talking about Lydia. Jane caught Lizzie up on what leads the police had so far. There wasn't much; however there was Lydia's camera that had a crucial part of information to the case.

Lydia was recording a video about George's and hers latest date when he walked into the room. He was urgent and demanding in a way, saying that they had to go, now. Lydia appeared to be confused and didn't understand why George was acting that way. She didn't move to go follow him when he was starting to raise his voice. Jane described that instead she almost looked like she was backing away, moving further into the couch she was sitting on.

"He would s-say something like, 'Come on Peach we need to go! Now!' a- and his voice would ju-just sound more annoyed an-and frustrated as he waited. Po-poor Lydia, looking so sc-scared at all of this. And once he noticed this Ge-George became all soft, his voice be-became quieter and he sat down next to-to her and held her hands. Lydia wasn't sure how to react so she just sat there, the poor thing."

By now Jane's eyes were running again and she had to pull over on the side of the road. Lizzie was crying once more too.

"Since he was softer he wo-would say something like, 'C-Come on baby, we've gotta go. We have to leave here now. I've made some mi-mistakes and we have to leave this place, t-t-together.'

Lydia would ask what he did and where they would go bu-but he always made some st-stupid _bullshit_ answer up." Jane's voice was rising. Lizzie's never heard her elder sister swear before, even as kids. This must've meant whatever George did in this video was obviously horrendous and Lizzie wasn't sure if she would've been able to bear it when she would see it. If whatever he did made sweet, caring Jane Bennet think terrible of you, even worse than how Darcy was portrayed in the past, then you must have done something terribly wrong.

By now, Jane was sobbing heavily and Lizzie was fuming. She tried to calm her sister and asked if she could drive the rest of the way home. When the sisters got out of the car to switch seats, Lizzie gave her sister a quick hug and told her everything will be fine and that Lydia will be home in no time.

"I hope so, Lizzie, I really hope so." Jane said in between stifles.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello fellow readers! :) I believe that I'm currently messing up the book's plot line- I think Lydia comes back and then Bing & Jane get back together but I feel like Jane needed a buddy in this tough time too! So a bit of bromance in this chapter which I got a kick out of writing wise because it was neat to have the guys open up a bit to each other. (especially Darcy since he never expresses his feelings with others) I can't say that I have/will ever manage to capture Bing's real character, I apologize for this. Maybe one day I will. So please enjoy! **

* * *

Darcy felt a tiny bit happier. He had just gotten off the phone and the arrangements were made. At least he tried to help, regardless if it worked, he wanted to be able to help out but Lizzie insisted for him not to since he had already booked her the flight back home. She even made him promise her that he wouldn't get involved. He made the promise only because he didn't want to make her more distressed than she already was.

This promise never said anything about Lizzie not knowing that he got involved though.

He knew very, very well how easily Lizzie could get mad at him for this. After all, she hated him for months before; it probably wouldn't take much effort for her to start all over again. So Darcy decided that his party would remain anonymous. He couldn't afford to make her mad at him all over again but her happiness mattered much more than her potentially never speaking to him again.

And after their goodbye at the airport, he had the feeling that they might not see each other again. So in the long run, if she did find out about what he did and did get mad enough to never speak with him again, it was better that she would be happy and not speaking to him rather than unhappy.

Darcy couldn't think about this anymore; his heart's been hurting too much in one day for a person to handle.

Massaging his closed eyes, Darcy couldn't believe how lonely this room could feel after Lizzie had left it earlier this afternoon. She had such an _effect; _he felt the same brokenness as he drove back from the airport and as he walked by her office on the way up to his. He could even sense something of the same in Gigi when she walked in to ask what he knew so far. Her distraught mood was undoubtedly caused by Lydia's Wickham situation though.

"Her plane left at 3. I watched it go before I headed back." Darcy recalls telling his little sister. "She should be arriving home around 6:30. I told her if she needed anything she could just call you or something of the sort but she didn't seem like she'd follow up on the offer…"

At this, Gigi started to cry and proceeded to where Darcy was behind his desk to fall into his arms. He hated this. He hated how Lizzie was crying before, how Gigi was crying later on, and most importantly he _despised_ how it's all George Wickham's doing.

"Ok, can't think about that either unless I want to clean up a broken lamp later," Darcy thought to himself. He had to do one more thing he promised himself in the airport parking lot, one final thing to attempt to set right. He picks up his phone and calls his selected contact. The line rings three times and he hears,

"Oh hello Darcy, odd of you to be calling during work hours," Bing had said in his normally cheerful tone but Darcy could tell he was still bitter.

"Well Bing, it's ummm been an odd day."

Darcy knew he was going to get it. They haven't really talked since Darcy showed Bing Lizzie's videos. In Bing's defense, the showing was a bit overdue. Darcy had been with Lizzie on one of her videos and they had been partaking in some of her signature costume theater when she asked him why he never showed Bing her videos. After their, broadcasted, conversation he realized maybe it was the right thing to do- to show Bing her videos. Bing never had to go back and try to make up with Jane, he just needed to know what Darcy had done and the mistake it was.

* * *

Once Darcy showed Bing the videos, Bing became mad for, well, himself. He just sat there after all 80 episodes looking perplexed as what to do next. He switched from looking at Darcy and opening his mouth to then closing it and looking at his phone like he should use it to call someone. Darcy assumed it was Jane he wanted to call and remembered how Lizzie and him determined if they tried to get back together, it might hurt them both further so he quickly said,

"I know this is delayed but Lizzie made me come to my sense today. I just wanted to show you that I was… wrong and I wasn't sure for a while on how you would take it if I were to show you these."

"Yea…this is sort've late, isn't it?" Nothing cheerful was in Bing's voice. "I thought I could trust you, I thought I could've trusted Caroline. Why didn't you show me these when you found out?"

"Like I said previously in the video, I was respecting Lizzie's privacy. Besides, I thought you wouldn't enjoy seeing me being so immersed in your dealings."

"Well Lizzie was right, I already knew you were. I've known for a while." Bing responded, obviously hurt.

"I'm sorry, I just…I just didn't know how you could ever react to that and I was afraid of what that could do to our friendship."

"Yea well, lucky you, you get to see how I react now." And with this Bing slowly gets up and walks out of Darcy's living room and continues to leave the house, ignoring Darcy calling after him.

They haven't talked since. Bing ignored all of Darcy's calls and messages the following days after. Gigi said that Caroline was receiving the same treatment as well. Since it was a week or so after, Darcy was hoping Bing has calmed down since.

* * *

"I need to speak to you about Jane," Darcy continued on when there wasn't a response from the other end. "It's rather important."

"Oh does she have a vlog too now?" Bing was trying to be sarcastic but Darcy knew his friend, he could hear the worry in his voice that he was trying to conceal.

"No, not that I know of, I promise. It's about Lydia, her sister. She has been reported missing, ran away actually, with, umm, George Wickham."

Bing immediately dropped being mad at Darcy anymore. He knew very well of Darcy's and George's past association and knew what talking about George could do to either Darcy sibling. Just like in Lizzie's episode he was in with Gigi. That was his wrongdoing that he realized was a mistake as soon as he said it.

"Oh man Darcy, I'm really sorry. Is there any way I can help you? Or help them? Do they know anything of their whereabouts?"

"Unfortunately, I'm not sure; Lizzie had just found out of her sisters absence this early afternoon and she has been on a plane since. She should be arriving home shortly. Jane was about to leave when she called Lizzie, she didn't sound like she was feeling too good."

"Oh. Yeah, yeah of course." Bing wasn't sure how to respond. His heart was starting to ache. He extremely missed Jane recently. He had always missed her; there was never a day that went by without him finding himself thinking about her. For months he was telling himself to move on and before Darcy had shown him Lizzie's videos, he was almost there._ Almost_. Then boom- like he was walking in the dark, lost his way, and headfirst strolled right into a wall. After those videos he realized he never was almost over her, he had always loved her. He couldn't stop loving her, all he was doing was fooling himself.

"I think it ummm would be best if you could umm talk with Jane," Darcy slowly began. "I know you saw that Lizzie and I agreed that this might not be the best for you two but…you still care about her. I can distinguish this. And I'm not sure if she still does back but she needs… someone to be there for her… Like I for Lizzie."

"Same with you huh? You still care too?" Bing understood where Darcy was going with this.

"It's hard not to," Darcy softly answered.

"Damn these Bennet sisters" Bing tried joking. Both men couldn't find the heart to laugh in a time like this but at least it lightened the tension between them. "I mean all jokingly, of course. They can be so, influential. It's just incredible."

Darcy could only respond with, "You have no idea Bing. And neither do I."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I wasn't going to break this up because it's so disproportional with the first part being so shorter than the second. I've noticed that the more I write, the longer the chapters get. Please tell me that this is ok before the chapters become novels of themselves. ;) Enjoy!**

* * *

Jane had only been home for a day when her phone rang. She didn't really feel like answering it, being in the distressed state she was, but in light of the situation, any and every phone call _must_ be answered.

She looked at her phone's screen, the caller wasn't a registered contact but the numbers appeared really familiar. She picked up and said in her best attempt at sounding happy,

"Hello? Jane Bennet speaking."

"Hi Jane," Jane gasped a sharp intake of breath while her heart both fluttered and ached. She knew the voice even before he said his name. "It's Bing."

"Oh umm hello," was all she could make out. Just about a thousand emotions just poured on her. Hatred, animosity, more importantly: even more pain and agony.

And yet there was just a bit of joy. It wasn't much though.

"I ummm I think we need to…talk. Well, I need to talk, anyways. Explain myself, really-"

"Listen, Bing, its ok. You don't have to explain anything, I get it," Jane cut him off. She wasn't sure what she wanted to say, she had a speech planned out since practically the day he left. But she wasn't planning it on being in a time like this, with her sister gone and her family broken. Herself broken too. She needed someone to just fall back on, someone who wasn't grieving already. Jane was so ready just to let him back in and let him be that person, if he wanted to be that person anyways. But she promised herself sometime back in December that she wouldn't do that to herself; as much as she wanted she couldn't let him back in just to break her heart once more.

"No, I don't think it is ok, Jane. I was a real ass back in September. And, and I know that you probably hate my guts right now, I don't blame you. I just….I just want to say how sorry I am for not only everything I did but what's going on in your life now." Bing trailed off; he wasn't sure what to say after that. He still really cared for her but he knew that one phone call wouldn't make her forgive him so soon, not even his sweet Jane could do that. Bing was so nervous calling her…He stayed up all night trying to think of something to say to her but obviously whatever plan he had seemed to have slipped his mind.

A few seconds go by until Bing heard a tiny whisper from the other line, "Go on." This made his heart both melt and break because he was getting a chance to clear things with her but she sounded so hurt by the softness of her tone.

"I-I…I'm sure you heard of my reasons for leaving before. I thought, I-I just thought I could trust them. They seemed to, understand, things better than me….I was wrong Jane. I was so very wrong. I should've talked to you, I should've called sooner, hell, I should've responded to you. I was just so unbelievably upset. For months I just felt lost and terrible, you have no idea. I couldn't believe you didn't feel the same way back. But….you did. Darcy just showed me Lizzie's videos a few days ago. I wasn't sure how to react since I figured you were very much done with me. But after hearing about what happened, I just…I just want to let you know that I'm here for you no matter what. If you want me to just shut up and never hear from me again though…just say the word and I'll go. I wouldn't want to break your heart ever again."

Jane's line was silent for a while. Then Bing could make out her sniffling. Just another blow to the chest.

"Oh Jane, I'm so sorry. So, so sorry. This was a bad idea, a very bad idea. I never meant to cause you any more pain, I'll just hang up-"

"Wait…no. Please stay."

* * *

Lizzie was in her room, searching the internet for _anything_ that could've related to Lydia's disappearance. She stalked her Tumblr, Twitter, even her Facebook. (which Lizzie knew Lydia hadn't touched in months, claiming it was the "next dead MySpace") She called all of her friends and classmates she knew of but they didn't know where she would've been, only that they all saw her last hanging out with "her new, hot, totes presh BF". Lizzie somehow managed to forced herself from not yelling at any of them for talking so highly (in their own way) about the monster who calls himself George Wickham.

Lizzie also called to check up on Mary, seeing if she found anything yet either. Mary knew of Lydia's disappearance even before Lizzie. That sort've stung, but really, Mary was more important to Lydia than Lizzie would ever be to her.

Mary's dad was also the cop in charge of Lydia's investigation. Mr. Bennet was trying to see if he could get a quick loan from the bank because they couldn't afford to pay for a search party or a private investigator. Having a relative being the local Police Head had its small benefits though: Uncle Eddie was trying everything in his power and worked around the clock, refusing to give up looking. Mary said on the phone they hadn't found any new leads, George Wickham didn't use his cellphone or credit cards in days. Lizzie was starting to feel more and more helpless and infuriated. She decided to go to her original plan and pulled out her camera.

"Hey everyone, like the change of scenery?" Lizzie said in a failed exciting voice.

"I know this is pretty surprising to be back home all of a sudden when everything was going so….well back at Pemberley." Lizzie dropped her fake smile with this, she couldn't keep the act up.

"My name is Lizzie Bennet and Lydia's missing." She didn't wait her few seconds like she normally would after her catch line though, for easier editing of her into. She decided this was going to be a one take.

"I know this isn't on my normal Monday, Thursday schedule. I'm not sure if I'll have time for Thursday's so this will have to do. I got the call yesterday by Jane saying Lydia was gone and flew home last night. Well, Will flew me home anyways. He insisted. The least I can try to insist on doing is calling him by his first name from now on." Lizzie looked meaningful into the camera, knowing Darcy would be watching. She decided by doing this she could make up what she owed him from the flight. Plus she wanted to start calling him Will ever since their San Francisco tour.

Remembering this just made her more numb with agony.

"So now I'm home. We have the police doing their best and we've contacted everyone we know to see of her whereabouts but so far nothing. Dad's trying to get something of a loan to hire a private investigator but that's a bit slow at the moment."

"What I guess the _best_ part about this whole thing is that someone went with Lydia. That someone was George Wickham." For being as hurt and tired as she was, Lizzie was able to maintain her sarcasm and blunt comments.

"They ran off together and no one knows where they went. I should of seen something like this coming from George. That…that…bastard, that stupid jackass. I've said and thought some nasty things about some people in life before, as you all know, but nothing will _ever _compare to the shithead named George Wickham now. In the past, I was wrong but now I've never been so right. Honestly, I don't think throttling him would be enough retribution for him."

"George, if you're watching this, bring back my little sister before my '_fantasies'_ of me killing you get to become more vicious. Right now, they could write a horror movie about me. " She gave the camera the most indignant look its ever received in the videos. Lizzie couldn't help but feeling she'll regret not editing her rage out but she couldn't care about that now; she'll just add it to the list of things to regret she recently started.

Her facial expression softened to anguish now.

"And Lydia, if you're watching this, please, please, _please_ come home. You don't understand how much we all miss you, how much I miss you. I'm incredible sorry for what I said and did. I would rather have you home now than me being right _any _day. Mom, Dad, Jane, Mary, even Kitty miss you awfully and its killing us all to have you missing. Please come home. We saw the video you were recording, you can't think this is a safe relationship, right? That, jerkface, treated you so terribly and you should never deal with that from someone who 'loves' you. That's not what love is about. It might be hard to believe, coming from me but I know that's not it." Another meaningful look and with it comes a knock on the door. Jane walks in.

"Hey Lizzie," Jane sat down. Her eyes were red and puffy but Jane didn't seem all that hurt at the moment, she even looked a bit happier. Not much, of course.

"Hey Jane, who was that on the phone? I heard you talking for a while but I couldn't make out what you were saying."

"Oh, that was ummm Bing." You could tell this was not what Lizzie was expecting as an answer.

"Bing? As in Bing Lee?"

"Yea," Jane gave a slight smile that quickly went away. "It was him. He heard about what happened and called. He apologized for him leaving for about 20 minutes and just wanted to let me know that he was there for me. Bing said he never meant to break my heart and promised he wouldn't do so ever again."

And again, Lizzie's face was very readable. She knew Darcy had to have said something to Bing. She gave a slight smile that quickly faded like Jane just did. Another thing she owed to William Darcy, another reason that made her change her feelings about him.

"So you guys made up then?"

"No, well, sort of. We have a longs way to go but...its a start."

"That's great Jane, that's really great." And with this, Lizzie turned off the camera.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Sorry for the wait, couldn't know where to start with this. I found a place though. ;) Never thought I'd write from Lydia's perspective but it only made sense to do so. Was originally going to have this as a big long chapter but I'm making it into 2 sort of even chapters. The next will be posted tomorrow when I finish. Now off to finish homework! Enjoy!**

* * *

Lydia was terrified. Scared didn't make the cut of what she felt. Terrified. Or even worse.

She wasn't in any pain though. Frankly, her conditions of being kidnapped were, decent, for being kidnapped- their hotel was enormous, they toured the city a bit, and had delicious meals from all over. It was just that she didn't know where she was in LA, or why they were here.

And that she couldn't have access to social media like her phone or the Internet. The withdraw scared her the most.

George was ok, at least in Lydia's mind he was. He took her phone away saying she wasn't allowed to have contact with anyone. When she asked why he would always respond,

"I just...can't let you. This time should be spent between us; no distractions of other things should get in the way."

George kept his phone though, Lydia noted.

When she tried to ask where they were and why George always answered vague,

"I ummm made some mistakes and I had to get away. But I couldn't live with myself without you." This at first made Lydia giddy but as time went on and the answer became worn out and more hostile she was slowly losing whatever happiness was there before.

"I told you, I couldn't be there anymore! I had to leave! Can't you get that through your mind?"

"Yes Georgy I can... But I just want to know, where are we?" Lydia softy replied.

"LA but I can't tell you more. You can't know. Besides, why do you care? You're happy here right? Back there you were unhappy, everyone left you, so in turn, you left. "

"Yea, I guess you're right. But what about Mary? Or kitty? Or my followers?" She said nothing of Lizzie, Jane, their parents.

"They'll understand, I'm sure of it. Besides, you have me, what more could you want?" Lydia forced a smile, she didn't believe it but she didn't want him yelling again.

"I'm just wondering, don't worry. What will we do for money and all? Whatever you brought is bound to be gone soon with the way we're staying." She looked around the well-decorated room; it was obviously not cheap at all.

"Well, for now we won't have to worry about that for a while…." George trailed off and couldn't look at her.

"What do you mean?" Lydia was at a lost for what he was trying to imply. He didn't have much money, she knew that pretty well.

George looked at her and smirked. "It's nothing, don't worry about it. Now let's go eat." He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the hotel room.

Lydia was a bit annoyed with another avoided question but decided to not pursue the topic, still afraid of what his potential response could be.

* * *

Later in the evening, Lydia decided she needed to take a shower since she was a bit…sweaty from before with George and that she needed to be alone to think about everything that's happened in the past couple days.

They've been here, wherever they are, for four days now. Lydia was trying to notice some sign of their location but couldn't get too much of what part of LA they were in. She wondered if she was close to Jane. Would she end up running into her on the street? Would Jane even notice her? Was Jane even in LA still? Did she go home when her parents found out her and George left? Probably. Did Lizzie do the same? Probably not.

Lydia let out some tears, blaming it on the water and the soap.

She bet Lizzie was happy that she left and you know what, so was Lydia; she was happy she left too. This'll show her that she's grown up. That she can face the real world without any of her help. All she needed was George. With his company, she was fine, she was safe.

Was she though? Was he really the only thing she needed? After how mean he's been towards her?

More tears.

Well at the current moment, yes, obviously. With no money, no phone, and, well, no idea where she was, she seriously needed him. But if that wasn't the case….and the way she's becoming so scared of him….

No, he's just mad because they had to leave so soon. He's just stressed- he'll be better soon. What was up with him avoiding all her questions though? She sort of had a right to know, right? And he said that they didn't need to worry about money now. What'd he do for that; rob a bank? Lydia laughed a bit, highly doubting it. He's too kind- the only way he would be able to was if he were to show the teller his hot abs and they'd end up fainting over them.

She got out of the shower, and turned off the running fan. While she was dressing herself, she could hear a female voice in the other room. Lizzie's voice.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Yep, not even at all. Couldn't stop writing. Please R&R, I love feed back.**

* * *

Lydia opened the door a crack a bit and saw George on his laptop watching one of Lizzie's videos.

"So now I'm home. We have the police doing their best and we've contacted everyone we know to see of her whereabouts but so far nothing…" Lizzie did come home, that was a surprise.

"I bet Jane just guilted her into coming back home," Lydia bitterly thought to herself.

"What I guess the best part about this whole thing is that someone went with Lydia. That someone was George Wickham."

"Oops, forgot to tell you big sis," Lydia responded again in her head.

"They ran off together and no one knows where they went. I should've seen something like this coming from George. That…that…bastard, that jackass. I've said and thought some nasty things about some people in life before, as you all know, but nothing will ever compare to the shithead named George Wickham now. In the past, I was wrong but now I've never been so right. Honestly, I don't think throttling him would be enough retribution for him. George, if you're watching this, bring back my little sister before my fantasies of me killing you get more vicious. Right now, they could write a horror movie about me."

Lydia was angry and defensive. "Just because he never stayed serious with you doesn't mean he's a bad guy. He loves me, deal with the facts that no one loves you anymore." She went to close the door until she heard the second part of the video.

"And Lydia, if you're watching this, please, please, please come home. You don't understand how much we all miss you, how much I miss you. I'm incredible sorry for what I said and did. I would rather have you home now than me being right any day. Mom, Dad, Jane, Mary, even Kitty miss you awfully and it's killing us all to have you gone. Please come home." Lydia started to cry again. "We saw the video you were recording, you can't think this is a safe relationship, right? That jerkface treated you so terribly and you should not at all deal with that from someone who 'loves' you. That's not what love is about. It might be hard to believe, coming from me, but I know that's not it."

Maybe Lydia didn't completely agree with Lizzie, but she was at least listening. She could hear the pain in her sister's voice and she started to ache. Maybe following George wasn't her best idea. She needed to find out what they were doing here, hiding, and see if she could go back.

"Why are you watching Lizzie's video?" This time Lydia said this out loud as she walked out of the bathroom, eyes still wet with tears.

George's laptop flew out of his lap and almost hit the floor until he managed to catch it before.

"Oh baby, you scared me there. Its nothing, it just happened to come up while I was on YouTube watching your videos." George was lying through his teeth and Lydia knew it.

"Yea, right, of course," Lydia said sarcastically. "What happened to "no other distractions of technology" hmm? Have you always been watching her videos?"

She was cornering in on George; it was her time to get angry. And George was not comfortable with this idea. He wouldn't let a girl out smart him any day.

"I ummm I, you know, I just said, I was just watching your vid-"

"George Wickham, you told me my family didn't care, you told me I didn't need them. And yet you've been watching her videos. Look at her- she's not…not happy." Lydia was staring at the computer screen, looking at the frozen picture of her older sister crying. Something in her, her defense and hatred towards Lizzie, weakened. She felt terrible for leaving and knew she had to get back. Lydia wasn't completely ok with Lizzie but she just knew that she never should've left. She can go back and start again with Lizzie.

"…And I'm not happy either. George, I'm going back home." Lydia said in barely a whisper, still staring at the screen with teary eyes.

"No, you can't," George said this forcefully as he grabs her wrist. "Lydia, is everything ok? You're acting strange. You should sit down." He starts to move her towards the bed but she shakes him off.

"No… no. I've been acting weird before. Different from myself since I met you. Not till now. I need to go back, they miss me." Lydia looked at George. His face was hard with anger. "Can't you see? This was a mistake, I'm going. Give me my phone back."

Lydia didn't know where she would go with no money, or how she would get there, but she just needed to get away from here. She needed to call Lizzie, tell her she was fine and wanted to be picked up and go home. George would understand, he would love her enough to understand.

After a few moments of them staring at each other, George finally said, "I can't let you leave. You can't go."

"I have to go, can't you see she's upset? Can't you see I'm upset?" Tears were running heavier down her cheeks.

"She's not upset over you, Lydia, she's just upset that she had to leave Pemberley. I bet Jane forced her back. She doesn't care about you anymore."

"No she can't! I know my sister, she wants me back, I can tell!"

"I know her too, she's not upset over you. Either way, it doesn't matter. I can't let you leave. You know where I am, and you'll tell the police where I am."

"So this is what it's all about? You're running from the cops then? And you think that I'd stoop so low as to tell you out? You know I love you…" Lydia was even more hurt. This was all too much. Maybe Lizzie didn't care about her… No. Lizzie did. And so did George. They had to.

George thought that maybe telling some of the truth would stop her idea.

"Yes, I'm running from the police. I….I messed up. One of the reasons I came back to your home town was….. an opportunity. I, I stole, from…someone. And had to leave, soon, but then you were there….It was hard to leave my Peach behind." George gave her a half smile and a wink.

Lydia wasn't sure how to reaction. She thought he was too… good to rob from anyone. She never saw this side of him, this…new side to him. She wasn't sure what to do, she still loved him but she needed some space to think and the want to go back home still never left her.

"I need to go, I have to think. I'm going home."

"Oh no you're not." With this, George pulls out her purse from the hotel room's safe .

"See, in here I could only hide my profits and, well, the evidence of me doing so. Well, the evidence of _you_ doing so. If any of these tracks were to be let out…. they'd lead back to your name. And if you just _happened_ to leave then these would just _happen_ to be released as well… The cops would find you in less than a day, I will be gone with the cash, and your family? A disgrace."

Shocked was not the best adjective to describe what Lydia was feeling, neither was hurt. Those were too weak to describe anything of the emotion wave that overcame her. She sat down on the bed. Running away with George Wickham, no being kidnapped by him, was her first true reason she believed her reasons for loving him were changing.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Yay long weekends! With this I should have at least 2 more stories coming out in the very near future. This took a while because I wasn't sure how to write it all out since there's a few things happening here. In the next chapter or two the parts all should...come together and it'll be...interesting. I hope. As always, enjoy!, sorry for the mistakes, and, oh yeah, I don't own P&P so...yeah. I guess I should of said that before...whoops. R&R please! K, bye! :)**

Darcy couldn't sleep. He couldn't because he knew Lizzie wasn't sleeping well, that Gigi felt responsible, that he was useless. He should've done something before: he should've encouraged Lizzie to talk with Lydia, he should've gotten rid of Wickham while he could. Something, anything. It was three in the morning and he knew he'd be lucky if he could get another two hours of "sleep" tonight. He highly doubted it however.

The phone rang. At three in the morning? Perhaps it was Lizzie? Or it could've been his contacts...

Good news: It was his contacts. They found Lydia.

Bad news: It wasn't Lizzie calling. No Wickham. Oh yeah, Lydia was behind bars. And a bit bruised.

It could've been worse he guessed.

He hoped.

Darcy immediately put on some more appropriate clothes other than his boxers and left for a drive to the airport to catch a plane to LA.

* * *

Lizzie couldn't sleep. She was too worried about Lydia. Too worried for what will happen to her and if she'll ever see her again. Lydia's been gone for five days now. _Five days._ The video didn't work; there was no response from her or Wickham. Just a bunch of worried followers. What had she done? She needed to talk to someone, anyone. But...she couldn't. Not this late at night anyways. Every sane human she knew was sleep.

She pulled out her laptop and clicked on the YouTube icon. Determined to see her younger sister completely, she started from the beginning of Lydia's videos.

* * *

"Miss, after we question you, you will receive one phone call. Until then please answer these questions truthfully."

Lydia told them everything. From being forcefully convinced by George to leave her house to her attempt at escaping. Until George called the police. He called the cops. _George did_. He called, grabbed some of his stolen goods and just left. Left. Forever. Just like that. And here she was, with most of the stolen property and all of evidence pointed against her.

He loved her though, right? How could he ever do this to her? That's not the Georgy she knew. But yet again, she guessed she didn't know much about him at all.

"He th-threatened me. He sa-said if I-I ran he would let the evidence slip, the ev-evidence against me. He t-turned _everything_ around to be directed at me and I was helpless an-and afraid; I didn't know w-what to-to do. So I ran. I ran fo-for the door but he ca-caught me and held me ba-back. I tried to br-break free from his h-hold but he- he was too strong. That's-that's how I g-got these." She pointed to her bruises.

The cops gave her look saying they didn't believe her. Lydia cried harder. She was being completely honest but they didn't believe her. No one ever did.

A cop came in the interrogation room to summon the other two, leaving Lydia alone, handcuffed to the table. She moved her head to bury her face in her hands and said to herself,

"I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry Mom and Dad and Jane and Lizzie and Mary, everyone. I shouldn't have gone after Wickham; I should've done the same that Lizzie did and ignored him. If he left her without warning, why did I expect him to be different for me? How could I let myself trust him and love him? I've just ruined everything like always. It's only shit-ton worse now."

The door to the near-empty room swung open, and Lydia looked up. She saw two different guys dressed in business suits rather than cop uniforms. They addressed themselves saying they were not police but rather private investigators that were assigned to her missing case. They asked her similar questions as the cops before but only more specific and took notes on everything she said. Instead of the unbelievable looks the police gave her from before, they looked at her with strong, caring eyes. Once they were finished questioning Lydia, she decided it was her turn.

"So you guys said you were on my missing case… That must mean you were hired by my family, right?"

The shorter, sturdier built man responded, "We are assigned to your case however it was not your family that hired us. Our employer will be here in a few hours."

"May I ask who your employer is?" Lydia was completely shocked that it was someone outside her family.

"We are not entitled to tell you. If they wish to show you who they are, then they will in a matter of hours. For now, our case has altered from your absent to clearing your name before there is any light casted on this incident. There will be lawyer here soon enough and we will use the evidence you told us to get you out of here and Mr. Wickham instead."

"Oh, why, thank you. And if I'm not allowed to speak with your employer, please give him or her my deepest thanks as well."

"We will," this time the other agent responded. "Please allow me to introduce my partner and myself. I am Agent Haggerston and this is Agent Younge. As we wait for our employer to arrive, you're able to make your one phone call however we expect you to not be behind bars much longer. So I recommend calling for a ride home." Agent Haggerston add this with a quick smile.

* * *

After being interrogated for an hour, the police officer led Lydia over to the phone. She decided beforehand who she knew who to call. The phone rang for a bit and she wondered if one of her parents or maybe even Jane was going to pick up. She was surprised when Lizzie breathed a hello into the receiver. It sounded like she ran a marathon with some obstacle on the way to reach the phone.

"Hi Lizzie, it's-"

"Oh my god, Lydia! It's you! - Jane! It's Lydia! Get Dad! - Where are you? Are you alright? Are you hurt? How are you feeling? Are you alone? Is that bastard still with you? How far are you from home?" Lizzie would've kept rapid firing questions to Lydia until she intervened.

"Lizzie I'm ok….I guess. I'm living so that's good, right? I'm sort've at a Police Station in LA and I need someone to come and get me." She trailed off since she wasn't too sure how to explain recent events to her sister on the phone.

"We'll leave right away! Which station are you at? Did they arrest Wickham?"

"Station Nine I think. And no, they didn't arrest him; they arrested me."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Thanks to some reviewers of last chapter, my attention was brought to a slight character problem I threw myself into. Typical. Hopefully, you guys think I fixed it in this one! Please R&R and enjoy! :)**

* * *

"How could she have been arrested?" Lizzie thought to herself over and over as she started up the car, waiting for Jane and their father to join her on the three hour trip to LA.

It was four thirty in the morning. Way too early for any sane human to be up but most of those people probably didn't have a younger sister in jail in a city three hours away. Lizzie was so deep in thought that she never saw Jane come up to her door and tapped on the window, causing her to jump.

"Lizzie, I think it would be best if I were to drive this time," Jane said sweetly since Lizzie looked…monstrous. "Since I know LA the best and I don't think you've been sleeping that great recently."

"Oh yea, right. You do that," Lizzie agreed as she got out of the seat and sat in the back, still helplessly immersed in her thoughts. The bags under eyes were apparent and her hair was sticking up in all the wrong ways. Lizzie didn't bother about it; she knew whatever she would try wouldn't help and she certainly believed that she wouldn't end up running into anyone she knew at the police station.

* * *

Agent Haggerston was waiting for Darcy at the airport. It was seven in the morning and both gentlemen were surviving on little sleep and many cups of coffee. As they drove to the police station, Haggerston filled Darcy in on what he missed while on his two hour plane ride.

"Has Agent Younge contacted his younger sister as to where Wickham would be?" Darcy asked as he flipped through the detective's notes in the passenger seat.

"He was on the phone with her as I left," Haggerston replied with a slight glance at his employer. He knew of the Darcy family's relationship with the person of interest and knew that the history turned out to be not so pleasant in the end.

Younge's sister was Gigi's roommate in college. The one to set up George and her on a blind date. There was reason to believe that one side of the pairing wasn't that blinded however. Since the… encounter at the condo with William, Gigi hasn't spoken to her ex-roommate since. The detective Younge, on the other hand, was very trustable. He was one of the finest investigators in the city, along with Haggerston, and was very different than his sister personality wise. Similar to the differences of William's and Gigi's social interactions.

"Did it appear like he was getting any crucial information?"

"Well from what I understand, it seems as though she does know where Wickham's whereabouts are. As to where that is, I left before discovering myself."

"Very well then…. Is she alright?" Darcy stopped leafing through the papers and stared at his shoes.

"I wasn't sure, sir. I wasn't really concerned about that matter then…"

"No, no. Miss. Bennet. Lydia. Is she alright? You mentioned before that she was a bit bruised?"

"Oh her. Sorry, I thought you were mentioning Younge's sister. Lydia is, well. Yes she is a bit bruise but nothing too threatening, the doctor there still checked nonetheless. She's just… sensitive at the moment. Bennet's been crying for some time now but she is cooperative. However, she hasn't expressed any feelings about the events and we haven't imposed on that subject yet. She has asked of information about you. We only mentioned you were a party outside her family and said if you would like to show yourself or for her to be given this info, that would be entirely your decision." He gave Darcy another quick glance. The latter was slowly nodding his head in thought.

"Very well. I contacted my lawyers before my plane ride, they should be meeting us here," Darcy said as they pulled into the police station's parking lot. Sure enough, there were another two men in suits waiting for their arrival outside.

* * *

Darcy determined this was the only way to keep Lizzie in the dark. He asked to be in contact with Lydia and was now being directed into another room where she waited, unhandcuffed.

Lydia looked up as he stepped into the plain room. "Darcy? What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for…you. I have to explain some things to you and I thought it would best if I did so myself."

"You aren't the boss of those two private detectives are you?" He nodded.

"Why? Wow. Why would you do that for me?" Lydia asked while rapid blinking. For being so different, Lydia and Lizzie still managed to have the same facial expressions sometimes.

"Well it's the right thing to do. I could've prevented this. If I were to have told of George's past to more than just confiding it to only Lizzie, you would've know how serpentine he can be. How manipulative as well. He has done the same to my younger sister, Gigi, once before. Not as momentously as what he has done now, no, but still…done for revenge to me." As he slowed down he looked at Lydia who was shaking her head.

"It wasn't your fault, Darcy. I was a young, foolish girl like always. I shouldn't have trusted him and I should've realized he must have been, something, if Lizzie rejected him before."

Darcy was shocked at this exposure of past events. He did continue to watch Lizzie's videos, of course. But once he saw the topic of George Wickham being brought up this past December, he couldn't find the courage to watch the rest of the video. He knew Lizzie was still mad at him and he thought that she would return to dating the beast as a blow to Darcy and his letter. A warm, almost familiar feeling began to spread through his body. He hadn't felt this sensation since his last engagement with Lizzie when he held her for comfort and their separation at the airport. He made a mental note to watch her video with her discard to George later, for enjoyment obviously.

"Even so, I still have suspicions to believe that this is moderately of my error and I intend to fix the wrong. As we speak, my men are out now with the police hunting down Wickham. We know where he's hiding. In fact, they should be back any moment with him in tow, arrested for suspicions of kidnapping and robbery."

As if almost on cue, shouts from outside the room were heard. The voice was similar to George's.

"Let me go you shithead! Let me go! I have nothing to do with this! It was all that bitch's fault!"

Lydia started to cry, again.

"Hey…don't cry," Darcy said a bit clumsily as he reached out for Lydia's arm across the table. He was never good at comforting, clearly, but if he could believe that he was comforting Gigi instead, perhaps that would be easier. There were so many similarities between the girls already that it wasn't too difficult.

"We are going to take him down, ok? That bastard won't be able to do this to anyone else ever again." Lydia faintly smiled and let out a laugh at the fact that even Darcy can be so uncivil when calling Wickham names. It was true though, he was a bastard.

"My lawyers are here now. With the proof they have from your video camera, the purse, and a few witnesses of other guests in the hotel that overheard your conversation, you are guaranteed to consider yourself free by now. There will be a court case, yes, but the challenge for my lawyers is nothing they can't handle." Lydia looked up at the man across the table while he gave her a small smile. She could trust him.

"Thank you Darcy, so much. What you're doing is beyond anything we could expect from you and my family and I will be forever grateful. You don't understand what this means to us."

"That's the second part of my purpose for having this discussion with you." Darcy slowly said as he released his hand from Lydia's arm. "You cannot tell your family that I did this, especially Lizzie. I don't want her to feel any more obligated to be in my debt. She thinks she already is from allowing me to purchase her a plane ticket home. I would want her unbalanced feeling to stop there. So what I ask of you to say is that the police have found you and civil lawyers are working on your case. I do believe your uncle is a head cop from your hometown, correct? I think it would be best if you were to say that he and his men were the ones to find you. As for my lawyers, I have already discussed with them to call themselves lawyers provided by the court system here in Los Angles. If you would prefer them to have a different title-"

Lydia cut him off from his rant of generosity. "Darcy, that's fine, really. I promise to not tell them what you've done for me, especially not Lizzie. Even if I really want to do so anyways." Lydia flashed him a smile. "However, with all these events that happened recently, I really hope this doesn't interfere with Lizzie's and yours relationship or your feelings towards her..."

Lydia received another small smile from Darcy. "No, this will not affect my feelings towards your sister. However our relationship I'm not so sure of." Darcy's smile faded.

"You didn't just do this because you thought it was right, huh? You did this partly because of Lizzie, didn't you?"

"I, ummmm, yes, I did. I just couldn't stand to see her so upset." Darcy couldn't meet her eyes. "It hurt too much."

"Well I hope this doesn't affect your relationship with her. Knowing Lizzie, I understand she'll be stubborn or unsure to continue anything with you but if you convince her enough, I know she will. Thank you."

Darcy stood up. "You're quite welcome…. and thanks for the advice. I better get back to my lawyers; my work here is almost done."

* * *

Darcy walked with his lawyers to another room at the station while talking about what needed to be presented at the court hearing. As they passed the main lobby of the building, he looked up to find himself directly in front of two red head young females and an older man with greying hair. He could recognize one particular hair color from anywhere, especially from his dreams.

Seeing the dark red almost brunette woman nearly caused his heart to fail.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Oh please, like I was really going to ruin the surprise to Lizzie so soon? ;) I wish I owned LBD or P&P, but I don't. Enjoy the happy moments! (while you can mwahahahaha (jokes))**

"Oh no." Was all Darcy could think to himself as jumped over a table, knocking over a chair, and ran for the hallway across the lobby to where the meeting with his lawyers was going to take place. He needed to hide. Quick. Lizzie mustn't see him at all. He knew he created a big enough commotion for all three of the Bennets too look up from filling out some papers but he was quite positive he was already out of sight when they noticed the incident. Still he continued to run through the hall to the conference room, only to look back briefly at the very confused looking lawyers and detectives standing shocked in the middle of the lobby while he barged through the door.

He could've sworn he heard Lizzie say, "What was that?" as he slammed the door behind him and sat down in a chair.

Thank the Lord that he was in track in high school.

Why didn't he expect her…them to be here? Why did Darcy think that it was ok to just go to the police station where Lydia was? Of course she had made her phone call to her family, why was he so dazed to see the Bennets standing fifteen feet before him? Darcy buried his head in his hands.

Lizzie. She looked awful. Like she hasn't slept in days or eaten much either. Her hair was very skewed and (even if she was looking down at the time) her eyes had such bags under them. Yet Darcy was barely able to contain himself from running over to her and holding her in his arms. Regardless of how off she looked, his heart couldn't help but to skip a beat when he saw her.

But his heart couldn't help skip another beat when he realized he shouldn't be in her view and that he needed to leave that position as soon as possible.

She was going to kill him someday without even noticing that it was her fault.

He was ok with that though. Being killed by Lizzie Bennet wasn't a bad consideration at all.

"Ummm are you feeling well, sir?" said one of his lawyers as they entered the conference room after him.

"Yes, just a bit flustered. That family that was filling out paperwork, they didn't acknowledge me, did they?" Darcy had to check.

"No sir, the Bennet family didn't notice you until after your marathon out of there. By the way, nice hang time you had there after the jump. Points off for knocking the chair though," Agent Younge said with an amused smile.

Darcy pulled his chin back. "Yes, well, let us proceed with the arguments for this case, shall we? I need to leave soon."

* * *

"Well that was weird," Lizzie thought to herself as she saw just the leg of a man sprint out of the Police Station lobby, leaving his bewilderingly company behind.

"What was that?" She asked to anyone in the main lobby.

"Sorry, the man's delusional; keep telling him his brother's time is not up yet but he won't listen…" Agent Haggerston curtly replied, saving Darcy's skin.

Lizzie just continued to give them a quizzical look as they continued on after the man but finally snapped out of it when a police officer started to lead them to the room Darcy had just left.

* * *

"Lydia!" Jane shouted as she ran over to her baby sister to give her a huge hug, Lizzie right on her heel to join in. Lydia was surprised to see her family as her next visitor but happily hugged both sisters back. All three girls were crying but for once it was for happiness to be reunited finally. Mr. Bennet was slightly laughing at their reunion, allowing himself to cry tears of joy as well.

"Are you ok? Are you feeling well? You're looking ok…" Lizzie said this as she was inspecting her sister for any physical harm. She saw Lydia's bruises. "Lydia what happened here?" pointing at her bruised arms.

"It's nothing; the doctor looked at it already and they said they'll be gone soon. I got them from trying to leave, it's my own fault." Lydia just shrugged since she didn't really care about them right now. All that mattered that she was back with her family.

"No, it's not Lydia. You don't deserve that. Look, I'm so sorry for our fight. I was unfair and I should've listened to you-"

"Lizzie, I know, I saw your video. Thank you. It's why I'm here today with you guys and not him. Even if it means I'm arrested."

"Not anymore, we paid your fine just before we saw you. You're coming home now, Lydia." Jane said this with a smile.

"I- What? Really?" Lydia's face shined with pure happiness for the first time in a while.

"Lydia, honey, it's time for you to go home." Mr. Bennet said as he pulled his youngest daughter in for a hug.

* * *

As Lydia was given back her items that the police confiscated, the rest of her family was filling out the rest of the forms of Lydia's release in the main lobby. Lydia looked down one of the narrow hallways to see a man looking like a deer in the headlights at her and then slowly on the rest of her family, who had their backs to him.

Lydia just rolled her eyes and walked over to the petrified man.

"You know, the more statue-like you stand, the more convincing you are." Lydia whispered with a small smile to Darcy while he gave her his disapproving look.

"I…I don't know where to go, I have to depart but cannot with an, obstacle, in the way…" He looked up and looked at the back of Lizzie's head. His heart beating fast once again.

"Don't worry, we'll be out in no time," Lydia whispered back with a smirk. Darcy was being ridiculous but that was his decision. She gave him a hug. "Thanks again for everything."

Darcy was caught off guard, causing him to break his gaze of Lizzie's head and be brought back to reality. "You're welcome. Don't worry about it, alright?" He whispered back.

Lydia broke her hold on him and started to walk backwards while giving him another smile. "Ok, I won't."

She pointed at Lizzie's back and mouthed "Call her" while pretending her other hand was a phone and held it up to her ear. Darcy couldn't help but smile while nodding a goodbye to Lydia as he reentered the conference room.

"Lydia what are you doing?" Lizzie noticed her sister was pointing at her back and was smiling but Lizzie didn't see anyone in sight.

Lydia spun around a bit too fast, scared to see if her sister saw the unknown hero. From Lizzie's face it was obvious that she didn't. Sighing with relief, Lydia said, "Oh nothing. I was just thinking to myself."

Lizzie gave her a look and then another look down the hall. Maybe she was just seeing things. Yawing, she responded, "Come on baby sister, let's go home so we can all finally get some sleep."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Oh things: it's funny how they work themselves out. I had like 100 ways about making things ravel together but I think this one crushed all the other one's butts. ;) I don't own anything, please R&R, and enjoy!**

"I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay, talk to you later."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Bing pressed the end call button and threw his phone on his bed. He wanted to say something more but he knew it was too early to say it. He had an idea. A very good one, he would think. 99.9% sure it was.

Running with a big, goofy grin, Bing left his room, sprinted down the hall, and took steps two at a time while holding on the railings in case he fell. When he landed on the main floor he stopped for a second, pulled his shirt back in order, reversed fist pumped while giving out a "yessssssss", and preceded to run through the kitchen to the storage room.

He hasn't felt this way for a while now. It's always been so draining and exhausting these past couple of months. He guesses it's just something about her that does this to him; that makes him feel so energetic. Bing smiles even bigger.

"Bing, what are you doing?" Caroline asked him from the kitchen table. He skidded to a halt, not realizing she was there before.

"Oh, nothing. I was just going to get the luggage from the storage." Bing's goofy grin faded a bit but he couldn't manage to not continue to smile.

"The luggage? Are you taking a trip somewhere?"

"Yes."

"May I ask where?" Caroline was becoming annoyed.

"Just visiting a friend, nothing that special or anything. I'll be gone for just a few days…maybe." Since he found out she pulled Jane away from him, knowing that Jane had feelings for him, he didn't really want to discuss his trip in greater details.

"Oh…I see. Are you visiting Darcy?" Caroline wouldn't let him off the hook that easily.

"Ummm… well maybe, if he wants to accompany me. Although I highly doubt it, he's pretty busy at the moment." Bing didn't like where their conversation was heading.

"Have either of you been there before?"

"Perhaps."

"Was your stay long?"

"Possibly." Nope, he did not like this one bit.

"And did the name of the place happen to be Netherfield?"

"What a coincidence, huh?" Yup, this was going to be bad.

"Oh. Ok." What. That was it?

"You have nothing more to question?" Bing gave her a confused look.

"Nope. Enjoy yourself on the trip. Tell Lizzie I said hello," Caroline said with a small smirk as she got up. She had some catching up to do on the Internet.

Well, it was a Monday and you know what that means for Lizzie Bennet. Time to vlog.

"Gooooodddd morning, my lovely viewers," Lizzie beamed at the camera.

"I am back. Jane is back. Charlotte is coming in later this weekend. Oh, and of course, Lydia is back as well." At this, Lydia sits down next to Lizzie and gives her a big hug.

"My name is Lizzie Bennet and everything is back to normal. Well, almost." Lizzie gives the camera another smile, only smaller, and the two sisters then continue to sing Lizzie's theme song together.

"So, we got a call Saturday night from Lydia telling us….to come pick her up." Lizzie didn't want to mention to the Internet that her baby sister was arrested. "The police in LA found her and that bastard and brought her to the station where she could call home. Now she's back where she belongs and the pig is where he should be, locked up and out of sight."

Lizzie gave another small smile and Lydia tried to do the same. She wasn't quite over him though.

"I just want to say I'm lucky. Without Uncle Eddie, I'm not sure if I were to have been found." She gave the camera a look.

Lydia, off camera, told her family that it was Uncle Eddie who vouched for her and said to the cops that arrested her to believe her story about it being Wickham's crime and not hers. She also mentioned that the respectable lawyers on her case were friends of the Uncle and gladly offered to the court system to take the messy case. The other four Bennets believed her every word.

"Yes of course, thank you so, so much Uncle Eddie. You're by far the best uncle we could ever have and be sure to receive better than the typical socks for a Christmas present in the years to come." Another beam at the camera. "And we have a few loose ends to tie up, Lydia has a court case to…testify against George but once that's over with, we can continue on with our mundane lives."

Lydia wanted to change the topic so she didn't have to lie anymore. "Speaking of mundane lives, when are you going to go back to Pemberley to finish up your study?" This caught Lizzie off-guard and she started to rapid blink while she thought of a decent answer.

"I-I don't know, I thought I would stick around a bit longer to stay with you instead. I think we need some catching up to do."

"Yes, we do but so does a certain company and a certain CEO of said company." Lydia gave her a look. "Big sis, I am not going to be the one to stand in the way of your degree or whatever else comes from it."

"What makes you think that there's something else?"

"I know I've only been back home for less than two days now but do you really think that kept me away from the Internet? I saw your last video and I saw something there." If anyone was keeping count, Lydia was totally beating Lizzie in whatever this was.

"Well I'm not too sure if you can still say that anymore," Lizzie looked down at this. For some unknown reason, this gave her a pain through her chest. She thought that since Lydia was back these pains would be gone but Lizzie thought too soon; she forced herself to forget Darcy until now.

"Regardless, I think you should see. And you know what? I think you should find out next week; when we go up to San Fran for the trial. After it, you should go back to Pemberley and finish up whatever loose ends you have there."

Lizzie was dazed by this proposal- she wasn't sure what to think. Darcy most likely didn't want her and her troubles back into his life but, yet again, she only had to shadow Pemberley for only a few more days. She was sure she could put up with the disappointed feelings she was sure to have for a bit longer. Maybe this will help her even get over him. Yes, she had feelings for him. It was hard for her to admit to herself but she couldn't ignore them any longer. Surprisingly, it didn't sound too bad of an idea after all.

"You know what, I think I might take you up on that," Lizzie responded with a small smile and a nudge to her little sister. Her response was returned with a grin as she turned off the camera.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: My apologize for this being like super duper late. I didn't forget about it just yet. I probably won't update till Friday/Saturday-ish, sorry. The time frame is all messed up with these different view points so just assume they're all on different days and when Lizzie makes a video, it's always Monday/Thursday unless said otherwise. **

**I had this at 1000 words but after revision it dropped to 999. Chance just doesn't want it to be that much more awesome then. :/**

**I decided to reuse Younge again since I didn't know who else to put. This'll probably be the last of her, she seems really pointless to me beyond events so far.**

* * *

As much as Bing pleaded, Darcy couldn't take him up on the offer of returning to Netherfield with him. He had to finish up all the points in Lydia's hearing and had to resume to his company's matters. It was decided that it was best if he was not present during the trial and it was determined that he will be updated about the trial from an assistant of the lawyers via email. Darcy was a bit upset that, for the secrecy of his involvement, he couldn't attend to see Lizzie once more.

That disappointment soon left after he saw the new video. A small smile grew across his face, knowing that he was able to see Lizzie after all.

* * *

The next day, Jane was making some tea when the doorbell rang. Although she didn't want to accept the fact, she was growing worried because Bing didn't pick up his phone for their daily chat at three in the afternoon. She called him twice and sent a text saying, "_You must be busy with a class. Sorry. Please call when you can. –Jane" _and decided any more attempts at contact would be portrayed as being possessive. After all, they weren't back to being a couple yet.

Jane hurried down the hall and opened the door to someone she didn't expect: Bing himself. With flowers, she might add.

"I'm sorry I didn't answer before, I was on the plane." But before he could continue, she was already hugging him. Smiling with joy, Jane was noticing that her reasons for being mad at him any more were fading and changing back to the ones for loving him.

Bing was surprised that he didn't physically melt into a puddle since the rest of his insides felt like they were doing so. Maybe he still had a chance with the lovely Jane Bennet.

* * *

"Hello everyone, it's me again…like always." After all this time, sometimes Lizzie was still very unsure of how to start a video. "And there's someone else that's returned to town as well for the week! My name is Lizzie Bennet and Bing Lee has returned."

"Not to mention my mother's periodic remarks about her eldest daughter's inevitable marriage as well," Lizzie expressed with distinguishable sarcasm and an eye roll. "I'm not going to even bother; I'll just let her run free in her own marriage-filled wonderland and hope she doesn't embarrass our family any more than the usual amount."

"Unfortunate timing, of course, for Bing since we are leaving for San Francisco this Saturday. But no worries, he promises he'll stay here, waiting for Jane's return." Lizzie said this with a big grin.

"They've been hanging out so much recently. It's not like how they were before, both of them are very unsure of the other, but they're just restarting. In no time they'll go back to making googly-eyes at each other once more."

"I'm really glad they were able to have another chance….To change their feelings for each other. I know, both of them obviously still really care for the other but I'm glad that they can have another go to change the hurt and the suffering they felt before. Sometimes life isn't always that forgiving." Lizzie looks down at her hands. Her double meaning was very clear in what she expressed.

"For those of you who are wondering, yes, I do intent on returning to Pemberley after the court dealings. I only have a few days left to go for my research with a few things left to do: find stats, fill out more paperwork, interview some people…" Lizzie's eyes wandered downwards once more. "The trial is Monday, it should finish up within a day or two, my family will leave, and when I'm finished a week or so later, I'll just fly home. Everything will be taken care of and my life will be back to normal. I hope."

Lizzie has nothing more to say and turns off the camera.

* * *

Boy did Caroline miss a lot within the past month.

Darcy and Lizzie were so close to dating and it was obvious there was something between them. Luckily enough, Lydia was "kidnapped" by that George Wickham and Lizzie had to go home before anything could really happen. Caroline knew the real story though. Regardless if the town was full of the uncivil, she was able to find herself one friend at her stay at Netherfield: Molly Younge. Younge appreciated the finer things in life, similar to Caroline, and they instantly became friends when running into each other at the local coffee shop. The gentlemen back at Netherfield never knew about the friendship, even if Caroline did invite Molly to Bing's birthday bash, since there were other women on their minds…

Caroline called up her old summertime friend and asked for her to dish the scoop. George robbed a local store, he ran away with Lydia to LA, called the cops on her and left the evidence with her, and she was arrested. Somehow none of this about the youngest Bennet sister surprised Caroline at all. However, her being sought after by a private investigator, paid for and released from jail, and being given some of the finest lawyers in the San Francisco area did surprise her. And even more so, who did this all while being anonymous: William Darcy.

She had to put a stop to this; it was inevitable that Lizzie was going to find out and fall in love with him. Darcy was Caroline's man, not hers.

It was possible to call Darcy's charming aunt, Lady Catherine De Bourgh but Caroline thought that was over stepping it a bit. As much as she wanted Lizzie out of the picture, she knew that Darcy would've known it was Caroline who made the call and that meant that she was out of the picture as well. Caroline had another idea. A very good one, she would think. She scheduled to order a plane ticket to San Francisco.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I'm so sorry this is late. I was busier (and sometimes lazier) than I expected to be this weekend. Please review with your thoughts! Sidenote, I don't own P&P or LBD...in case you were wondering.**

* * *

The trial went smoothly. Thanks to Darcy's excellent lawyers, the Bennet's were able to be out of the whole mess in no more than two days tops. George was put in jail for ten years for robbery and taking someone against their will. His crimes will follow him where ever he went for the rest of his life and everyone he will meet will know of his dark past.

It was decided that on Wednesday morning, four fifths of the Bennet family were to head home. Lizzie planned to move into a smaller, cheaper hotel room since the family she was house-sitting for had already returned since her departure two weeks ago. She didn't mind not having a house this time; her stay was shorter and she was too busy with thinking about returning to Pemberley (and Darcy).

The evening before the rest of the family's departure, the three sisters decided to go to a local bar to celebrate Lydia being back with them and her now clear slate. All of them remained appropriate and only had a few drinks each. None of the ladies, especially Lydia, thought it was best to get too carried away with drinking since the recent avoidance of the court system.

The sisters returned to the hotel rather early in the night. Lizzie decided it was a good idea to make another unscheduled video to inform her viewers of how well Lydia's case went in the morning. Many of them were already trying to contact her on social media sites to see how it was going. Lydia decided she wanted to join her sister in the vlog, for further proof to the viewers.

"Hello everyone it is a fine night here in San Francisco," Lizzie greets the camera with a smile, one that's similar to Lydia's. Maybe it's the alcohol or maybe it's the great news she got in the morning but Lydia manages to smile alongside her sister for the first time in a while.

"It is a beautiful night with my beautiful sisters and we're having a pretty good day. Hopefully the first of many to come from now on." Lizzie then turns to side hug her sister. "You know what, take it away, sis."

And maybe it's just her being distracted from her happiness that she's free or maybe it is the slight fogginess from the drinks before but Lydia didn't realize what she was saying until after when she said,

"My name is Lydia Bennet and I can't thank William Darcy enough."

* * *

"Ummm, what?" Lizzie asked after a few seconds as she dumbfoundedly stared at Lydia. At the mention of his name, Lizzie's heart beat managed to quicken greatly and she noticed herself starting to sweat. She blamed it on the drinks.

Lydia looked mortified at the camera with eyes wide and mouth slightly ajar. Shit. Did she just say that out loud? On camera? _In front of Lizzie?_ She needed to think of a cover up, quick.

"Ummmm… You know, I want to thank him for….allowing you to fly home, yea, at….his expense on such, short, notice." Lydia butchered right through her cover up and Lizzie very well knew it was a lie.

"Lydia, what are you talking about? That is such a lie." Lizzie glances at the camera and side whispers, "I can turn off the camera for this if it's necessary."

Lydia took a deep breath while considering her options. Obviously she was going to have to tell her the truth so why not tell the internet as well?

"No, don't. I'll tell you the truth," Lydia says this confidently while focusing on the camera. "Lizzie told you all before that the police found me in LA…that was a lie. They found me, yes, but they also arrested me as well."

Lizzie's eyes were now wide. "Lydia I'm going to cut this out, this shouldn't be on the Internet."

"No Lizzie, don't. They should know the full story, and you should too." Lydia gave her sister the same look she gave the camera.

Taken aback, Lizzie just managed to shutter out, "Ok. Go on."

"Anyway, they arrested me for the belief of robbing a local store and running away. Much of the evidence was there in the hotel room with me. They got the tip from…George. He called 911 and left me with the evidence and a good portion of the stolen money. I didn't rob the store though, that was all him. He just forcefully convinced me to go along with him, to run away with him. Later, when I heard Lizzie's video, I wanted to leave but he wouldn't let me. In the end, he called the police and just left."

Lydia took another big breath after revealing all this. It was still so hard to talk about it, even if she's already said her story a couple times now. Lizzie reached out for her knee and started to rub it to soothe Lydia. The younger sister gave her a faint smile and continued on.

"At the station, I was interrogated by cops and then later by two other guys. These men were private investigators. They said they were hired by an anonymous source when I was reported missing." Lizzie's heart dropped and she knew what was coming next. "They were hired by Darcy." Lydia looked up to Lizzie. Lizzie had pulled her hand away and stared at her hands in her lap. She couldn't believe what she had just heard and couldn't manage to say anything about it. Lydia proceeded on,

"After interviewing me, they were able to convince the police that I was framed and to be able to be let go. The police agreed as long as I had a hearing, the reason why we're here in San Fran now. They further found George and found evidence of him doing the crime."

"In the meantime, Darcy came to visit me." Lizzie looked up to her younger sister at this. "Literally right before you, Jane, and Dad came to get me. I'm really surprised you didn't run into him. He told me what was going on, how I was being released, why he did it: thinking that it was his fault….and also, to not tell you."

"Why to not tell me?" Lizzie managed to get out. Everything she was being told was causing her head to spin and her heartbeat to rise more. She knew this wasn't the effect of the drinks anymore.

"He didn't want you to think you owed him anymore after the plane ticket. He doesn't want that from you." Lizzie just sat there, taking it all in. Lydia readdressed the camera once more,

"So at my case today and yesterday, the lawyers I had weren't just the normal ones provided by the court system. They were Darcy's private ones as well, taking on the case while telling my family they were friends' of my uncle. They're probably some of the best in the area since they were able to make my case finish so fast and how I now have a clean slate. Without Darcy, I really think I'd still be behind bars. I will never be able to thank him enough." Lydia has finished and looks at Lizzie, still in the same position.

Overwhelmed is a mediocre word to describe her feelings right now. She just cannot believe Darcy would do that for Lydia, for them. A warm sensation, similar to the one she felt when he reached out for her knee in his office so long ago, washed over her as she thought of him. Lizzie was taking deep breaths trying to calm herself. She had to thank him tomorrow at Pemberley, it was completely necessary. Maybe he did this all to fix the right, or maybe to just get Lizzie completely out of his life, but she had to thank him. Tell him how grateful she was for him. Slowly, Lizzie started to nod.

"Yes, we'll never be able to thank him enough," Lizzie finally responds and turns off the camera.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: I'm really sorry for the wait for this. Whenever I go on this site, I tend to read more than I should be writing. So here's the...confrontation. I don't know how you will view this but when I had this in my head, I thought it would fit well. I can see Caroline going outside her normal boundaries to keep Lizzie away. After writing it, I feel like this might not be as well liked as I thought it would. Please review, I would love to hear if my style of the...confrontation is passable. And let it be know that I haven't really gone off of P&P or LBD so maybe things might end up...differently. Ok, it's 1:30 am here and I have to sleep- happy readings!**

* * *

Gigi insisted that Lizzie came in late to Pemberley on Wednesday saying that it was best to see her family go home. Lizzie thought that maybe there were other reasons to this, like another trap, but ever since the news she received from Lydia yesterday, she hadn't really bothered to think of anything else besides Darcy.

Why would he do this for her family? She still didn't know. George dating Lydia and taking her away wasn't his fault, completely not his at all. If anything, it was Lizzie's. She should've told Lydia before how manipulative he can be and she should've made up from their stupid fight sooner.

Was Darcy still in love with her? Again, she didn't know. For some reason a part of Lizzie wanted him to still be. But the other part of her knew that was most likely not the case. He never got in touch with her after she left; he obviously wanted her out of his life.

She just needed to see him again. To thank him, try to make amends between them, tell him how grateful she is. Oh, and finish their interview, along with the rest of the part of her thesis on Pemberley. Lizzie wasn't sure if she should tell him about her changing feelings about him. It was apparent to her that whatever she felt towards him was strong and almost passionate but she didn't want to open a recently healed wound for him or for her to gain one. She decided that if the moment was right, and she knew he felt the same, she will tell him if she ever got past her nerves and never-ending thoughts.

At the airport, she hugged her family goodbye and gave them all promises that she'll be home soon. It was easier to say goodbye this time since she knew she'd be home in a week and that she knew they were all safe. She hugged Lydia last and as they were in their embrace, Lydia whispered,

"Go get that tiger of yours, ok? Tell him I say thanks a million." She gave her older sister a wink and a big, scrunched-up-face grin while the latter gave her a disapproving look. Lizzie couldn't help herself; she returned a similar smile back. Things between her younger sister and her were looking to be promising in the future.

Lizzie watched their plane take off from the window, the same place where Darcy did so for her only weeks before. Of course, Lizzie still thought that previously it was just her head in the moment and she that she was seeing things. She shook that thought out of her head as she quickly headed off to find a cab to take her back to Pemberley Digital.

* * *

This was her last chance; her last chance at William Darcy. Caroline Lee knew she wouldn't find the courage to follow her plan completely while being sober. She knew her proper behaviors she always maintained so well would override her feelings, her desire to prevent Lizzie from receiving the opportunity of ever having a relationship with Darcy again. This was very much out of character for her in some ways, but in others, not all that much. In order to gain some confidence in herself to complete her entire scheme, Caroline had a few drinks as her driver drove her to Pemberley. Not enough to become drunk, of course, but just enough alcohol confidence for her thoughts to be a smidge blurry, similar to Lydia on Lizzie's last video when she let slip that Darcy helped her out of jail. The minimum intoxication made her feel powerful and sure of what she was doing was right. Caroline knew this was what she wanted and what Catherine De Bourgh would have approved of (to an extent).

She marched right into Pemberley digital, right past Lizzie and Gigi reuniting in the main lobby. She smirked at them; they were too absorbed in their own conversation to see her walk on by. No matter, soon enough they'll notice her presence. No one else bothered to stop her from further entering the building since all the employees around knew of the Lee family's friendship with the Darcys and allowed her to make her way to the elevators. She pressed the button to the highest floor, where the executive offices were located.

She walked to his office with ease, knowing he was already expecting someone to arrive that day, someone who was too busy catching up with a particular younger sister in the main lobby. Knocking on the door, she heard a nervous but excited voice call out, "Come in" as she entered the room and closed the door softly behind her.

* * *

"I'm sorry, I'm keeping you from _thanking_ a certain someone a few floors above," Gigi finally mentioned in their conversation with a knowing smile and an eye roll. She knew her brother was just as impatient and anxious as Lizzie appeared to be about their first chat since her departure and her discovery of his influence in Lydia's case. Gigi couldn't help herself hiding her excitement for the two of them.

"Gigi, I didn't come here looking for that. I came to formally thank him for what he's done for my family and for allowing me back to continue my research. Your brother doesn't want any of that from me, his feelings have changed since last November," Lizzie said nervously. She didn't want to admit it to Darcy's sister that she had feeling for him yet, not until she knew he felt the same.

"Oh really? His feelings have changed? It's not like he was willing to turn over every rock in the state of California to find your sister or anything like that," Gigi gave her a mischievous grin.

"He was just trying to be helpful, I don't know," Lizzie responded timidly, "I'm sure William wasn't planning on checking all the rocks….just the ones in the nearby areas."

"So you think," another flash of the grin but it soon faded to a reassuring one. "Don't worry, I promise you what he did sounds more expensive than it really was. We know these guys that were on your case, they were just helping us help you. He's glad that his efforts were able to be of good use."

"Thanks Gigi," Lizzie said as she gave her a hug. "It really means a lot. I'm not sure how I'll be ever to repay you."

"Don't worry about it. Just allow me to take your bags to your office while you go _thank_ another certain Darcy," Gigi replied as she forcibly took Lizzie's bags from her. "Oh, and come to think of it, you can repay me by A: being honest with William up there... And also B: that we go karaoke singing this Friday and you buy the drinks, unless you already have a _date_ for then." The smirk was back once more. She started to walk backwards towards the stairs, pulling out her phone to, undoubtedly, text Fitz of what was about to happen.

Lizzie couldn't resist a smile at these conditions. "Oh alright, Gigi-D. Be sure to have your singing voice ready by then….maybe," she finished with a similar smirk and pressed the button to enter the elevator.

The trip up six floors took extremely longer than any other elevator ride Lizzie had taken before. She noticed her breath become more shallow, her pulse rising too fast to her liking and her palms starting to sweat more. Lizzie thought to herself, "Keep calm, Lizzie. You can do this," as the ding notified her of her arrival.

Not walking with ease like the last time, she set off to his office at a brisk pace. Heart in her throat, she knocked on the door and being too impatient to wait for permission, she entered the office.

Only she wished she had waited, since she was interrupting Caroline Lee sitting on Darcy's lap as she passionately made out with his face and lips.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Sorry it didn't come out faster. Please Review, it makes writing this 10 times better. This is messy, be prepared for that. I think I covered just about everything in this part of the ending... I don't own neither P&P or LBD.**

* * *

"Oh, ummm sorry for….intruding. I'll just leave. Now." Lizzie stuttered as she exited the office. She could here Darcy yell after her, "Wait! Lizzie, stop! Please, this isn't what it looks like!" but the tears were already falling from her eyes as she ran to the stairs.

Lizzie wanted to go home. Now. She shouldn't have done this; she should not have ignored the lucid signs saying he didn't want her. With blurry eyes and taking steps two at a time, she ran down the stairwell and to the second floor, where her intern office was. When she walked in, she saw Gigi talking to a camera,

"And now I bet they're probably going crazy at each other…or they could still be on opposite sides of the- hey Lizzie what are you…? Oh my god, are you crying? Why? What did he do? I swear, that man can never say what's on his mind when talking to you-"

"Gigi, please. I can't do this, I need to go home. Where's my stuff? Are you filming?...With my phone?"

"What? Why? Umm, yea. I installed our new app, Domino, for you to film your episodes easier. I hooked it all up and was filling your viewers in…again, why are you crying Lizzie?"

"It's nothing; I just need to go home. Can I have my things and go?" Lizzie tried to wipe her eyes without smearing her mascara. "I'm so stupid. Utterly and completely stupid," she thought to herself.

"This has to be something if it's making you cry," Gigi said. This caused a greater wave of pain in Lizzie's heart as she remembered Darcy saying the same thing in his office only weeks before. The tears seemed to wash out heavier now. "Ohhh, Lizzie, come here" Gigi said as she extended her arms to hug Lizzie as she sat down in view of the camera.

"Lizzie, please tell me wha-"but before Gigi could get the rest of her question out, Caroline barged into the room.

"I hope you feel sorry what you have done, Lizzie Bennet," Caroline was off screen, but the camera on the phone was able to pick up every word she sneered at Lizzie.

"Caroline? What are you doing he-" Gigi tried to begin but was cut off, again, by Caroline.

"I was just catching up with your brother, when we were _rudely _interrupted by _someone_ here."

Finally, Lizzie had something to say, "Oh _catching up_ was it? Making out with someone and having a conversation about what you've done in the recent past are very different things, Caroline. In case you haven't noticed." Once again, Lizzie Bennet proved that even in emotional moments, with tears streaming down her face, she can still remain very sarcastic.

Gigi was beyond baffled. All she could get out with a faint voice was, "Making out?"

Caroline sat down next to her, now in the camera's view. Lizzie, through gritted teeth and without breaking her glare directed at Caroline, finally informed the person acting as barrier on what had happened literally five minutes ago,

"Yes, _making out._ I walked in on her and your brother making out with her _straddling_ his lap. Clearly, they had a lot of _catching up _to do."

The shock was very apparent on Gigi's face. "Caroline, what the hell? Why would you ever do something like that? William and you aren't like that. You guys don't have anything between you. Lizzie, I swear they don't. William really does still lo-"cut off once again but it was Lizzie this time.

"Gigi, come on. I saw the signs; I knew he gave up on me long ago. He never bothered to stay in touch after I left, he wanted what he did for Lydia to be kept from me knowing, and obviously we all now know how heartbroken he is over my absence, like he ever was. This was a mistake. This was all a mistake, thinking I could waltz right in and leave where I thought we left off." Lizzie laughed an insane but weak laugh, exaggeratedly lifted her arms in the air and rolled her eye. "And to think that I was falling in love with that man when he had no interest in me whatsoever. Huh, it's funny how the tables have turned," Lizzie looked away from the enemy sitting chocking-distance away from her and gave another insane laugh.

"Lizzie! William and her," pointing at Caroline, "are not a thing! He really does care about you, Lizzie! He looked for Lydia JUST for you! My brother _still_ loves you! He's been so lost here since you've been gone. You need to trust what I'm saying!"

This made Lizzie stop and think for a moment. Was it all true? She didn't know. God, this was all too much for her. Her heart was shattering more and more with every breath she took. It wasn't helping that she was panting either. Caroline noticed Lizzie's respite in her fury and knew she couldn't allow such a thing. She added fuel to the fire,

"Even if you were in a relationship with William, it wouldn't have worked out. He's too good for you and your family. You would never be able to live up to his family's and his expectations. And besides, whatever you thought you had going on between you two before your departure was clearly faked on your part. You were just trying to seduce him to snag yourself a job at Pemberley."

Gigi was saying something about her being his only family left and how she totally approved of Lizzie dating Darcy but she was overpowered by the much louder yelling of Lizzie when she said,

"Snagging myself a job at Pemberley? I wasn't purposefully flirting with the CEO just to be offered a job, if that's what you think. As great as Pemberley is and how badly I'd love to work here, I wouldn't stoop so low as to "seduce" him. He's too good for my family and I? He's calling the kettle black when saying Jane had an indiscretion and now look at him. And maybe I wouldn't live up to his expectations or his Aunt's expectations but that doesn't matter now, _I'm not in a relationship with him._ Besides, what will poor Aunt Cathy think when she hears how _uncivil_ and _whore-like _her favorite match for her nephew acted?"

"Like you said, she actually approves of us. She will come around when I have to tell her this was the consequence to keep _you and your filthy poor hands_ away. I'll do whatever it takes to keep you from joining any relationship between William and you. Frankly, I think he enjoyed it as much as I did. Built up tension, I suppose." Caroline knew she had Lizzie defeated and gave her the nasty smirk in the entire war yet.

If there was a count for how many lines Caroline broke so far, saying that Darcy enjoyed himself was the worst by far. Lizzie had to grip onto her stool as her hands turned white to keep herself from lunging at Caroline. Lizzie wasn't ready to say goodbye to the idea of not loving or caring for Darcy and she wasn't ready to call it quits, letting Caroline win.

"Unfortunately for your plan, if I do have the opportunity to be in a relationship with William Darcy, I believe that turning it away would be too hasty. In fact, maybe I will accept. All is fair in love and war, is it not?" Lizzie returned the nasty smirk back.

Caroline was standing up, clearly about to go after Lizzie in some way, until someone barged into the office without his usual knocking. The topic of the brawl: William Darcy. The amount of what he heard from before was unknown to the three ladies in the room but his presence immediately caused all of them to stop.

Caroline spoke first as she tried to collect herself and moved to try to put her arm through his. "Ah, William. Just in time, I was telling Lizzie how she _rudely _interrupted our conversation previ-."

Darcy firmly backed away from her advancements on him. By now, he was in the camera frame as well, the only issue was that all four people were standing up by now and it was unclear to make out their faces. However, you were able to see part of Lizzie's because she couldn't look at the force of nature that entered the room so she decided to stare at her shoes while wiping the left over tears from her face.

"Caroline, no. Please leave now with whatever dignity that remains with you now. Failure to do so and I will be forced to call security." At this, from the camera's view point, you were able to make out Lizzie lifting her head to quickly look at Darcy, then Caroline, then her shoes again while the lower part of Caroline's jaw dropped slightly into view.

Caroline appeared as though she had something else to say but decided against it as she practically ran out of the office.

Darcy changed his stance to look at Lizzie, head still bowed and sniffling. She wasn't sure on what to do so she remained there but didn't have any more heart for her too look at him without it breaking more. Gigi, from the camera's viewpoint, turned to face her brother and then to face Lizzie. She knew this wound might be too big to fix back together. Shoulder's heaved, she walked over to Lizzie's bags to make sure all of her belongs were in there, excluding Lizzie's phone on the tripod. She put the bags on the stool that Lizzie just sat in (meanwhile, Darcy was still trying to form some words together to begin to talk with Lizzie. All of his internal attempts were no good, however) and once Gigi was done with the task, she walked out of the room, closing the door.


	17. Chapter 17 (part 1)

**A/N: I had to break this one up because the ending on this part seemed so perfect. The second half will be up later today when I finish writing it. Please review with thoughts, criticisms, opinions, etc, those things make my day :) **

* * *

They stood there for what felt like forever. Lizzie- staring at her shoes, blinking rapidly as an attempt to air out her eyes for the redness to go away, and trying to catch her breath while trying to bind up her emotions. Darcy- looking at Lizzie, shocked at everything that had happened, and trying to figure out what to say. When Lizzie decided that it was best for her to leave and moved to collect her bags, he knew he had to say something, anything.

"Lizzie, wait." Darcy took a step towards her, one hand stretched out.

"Don't Darcy. Just, don't. You'll try to apologize but, I get it. I understand your feelings towards me. I'm sorry for everything. I hope you...I hope...never mind." Lizzie grabbed her bag, swung it around her arm and moved to the phone, still recording, on the tripod.

"Lizzie, you don't understand. What went on there and here-"

"Is very illuminating." Darcy's shoulders stooped, as if he really was just punched. " I'm sorry for making this mistake. If you'll just excuse me, I will get out of your hair for good...being the best for the both of us."

By now, Lizzie had managed to take the phone off the tripod and was attempting to turn off the recording but there was no end button. She didn't know what to do with the footage but for now that was the least of her worries.

She murmured, "How do you turn this stupid thing-"

"Domino end recording," Darcy called out to turn off the phone. The last thing on the footage was Lizzie's face close up but off centered, illustrating how distraught her voice portrayed her to be and Darcy in the background, staring at the ground, clearly looking defeated and broken.

Lizzie shoved the stand in her bag and allowed herself to look at the force of nature that caused a hurricane to swallow her whole. She didn't have strength to look beyond his chest. She looked forward at the door and left the office for good.

Darcy was lost in thought and finally realized her presence was gone a minute after she left. He couldn't give up just yet.

"Lizzie! Stop! Wait!" He sprinted out the door to the elevators to find the doors just closing. Ignoring all the perplexed looks, he ran to the stairs and took steps two at a time.

By the time he landed on the main floor, she was halfway to the exit.

"Lizzie, please stop! Lizzie!" All eyes were on them now and she increased her walking speed. Lizzie made it to the doors, the tears she was holding back were falling once more. Luckily enough for her, a trolley was stopping to collect new riders on the street. She hooped on just as it was taking off.

By then, Darcy had made it to the main doors just in time to watch her leave. He stopped, chest heaving from running so fast down the steps and knowing he was not in any condition, mentally or clothing-wise, to chase after her anymore. As he watched her go, he panted something only audible for him to hear, "Lizzie, please don't go. I love you."


	18. Chapter 17 (part 2)

**A/N: I lied before- this chapter will be a 3 part-er. You'll see very very soon. For now, I'm going to post this one since it's done. Part 3 is 87% done and will be up shortly this evening. I tried grouping them together but it was waaayyyy to massive.**

* * *

When returning to her hotel room, Lizzie half threw herself on the single bed and half collapsed on it. She went through so many different emotions, and at such different heights, it felt like she was emotionally drained. That wasn't correct though, she hardly had any of it to come.

"Why am I so stupid?" she whispered in the bed's comforter. "How could I ever believe his feelings hadn't changed? How could I ever think we still had a chance?"

Replaying her confrontation with Caroline in her head, she realized she said she loved Darcy. Was that even true? It was completely a statement in the heat of the moment, said passionately and confidently then but underneath there was little confidence to it at all. Before everything today, her mind would drift away to the topic occasionally but she always banished the thoughts, saying it was too early to ever think that.

Now that she was here lying on the bed, broken, Lizzie determined that it was indeed true. It had to be true. She's never felt this heartbroken before because of a man. She's never felt this heartbroken before at all in the first place. Lizzie didn't even feel "decent enough." Seeing Caroline kissing him….it was too much. Her mind, in the moment, had completely shut down but meanwhile, her heart was yearning for her to be the one kissing Darcy from behind his desk. The memory was an imagine that couldn't leave her head, regardless of how badly she wanted it gone. The look on his face when he saw her; Lizzie couldn't even describe what it was. Hatred, probably. Disgust, most likely.

Inches from her hand, Lizzie's phone began to vibrate on the bed. Thinking it was Gigi, Lizzie almost didn't bother to look at it. However, she did, and it happened to be Charlotte instead. "Good," Lizzie thought to herself, "I need some logic and a distraction." Lizzie answered the phone.

"What the hell? Are you ok? Why would Caroline ever do that? What happened afterword? How come you posted that? It's so unlike you. Oh my god, that bitch! I can't believe her!" Charlotte said this all instead of a "hello". Lizzie was beyond confused.

"What? What do you mean? How the hell do you know about what happened? What do you mean 'I posted that'?" Lizzie couldn't imagine how Charlotte had access to the video when she didn't even do anything with it yet. Her head was growing dizzy.

"You didn't post it? Then who did for you? Wait- oh my god. Gigi said she was using Domino to film…oh my god Lizzie this is so bad."

"Domino? What the hell?"

"Yea, Domino. You know, Pemberley's new app _that lets you film things and it edits and uploads after to the internet by itself._ We just heard about it at Collins and Collins last week because Pemberley wanted us to test it out for them. Gigi said she was using the app to record in the beginning of the video before you barged in. She was talking about how she set it all up for you so you can make your videos more easily. Lizzie, everything that happened is on the internet now for the world to see." Whatever pieces that remained of Lizzie heart fell to her stomach.

While continuing the call with Charlotte, Lizzie pulled up her YouTube page on her phone. Sure enough, there was a new video posted 20 minutes ago title, "Changing Reasons". Lizzie clicked on the icon, the video had already maxed out on the count of views from the video at 306 for the hour.

Gigi must've created the title before the video uploaded itself because it fits way better with her topics in the beginning than what happened at the end. She was beaming at the camera and began,

"Hey internet! So obviously, I am not Lizzie. I'm Gigi Darcy; I've been on past episodes before with Lizzie but this time I wanted to dish you all the scoop of what is about to happen between Lizzie and my brother alone. I've set up Domino, a new app Pemberley is working on, so this video can immediately edit and upload itself without me having to do any work! My name is Gigi Darcy and my brother is upstairs right now changing Lizzie Bennet's reasons for loving him." The intro then pops up. For as confused, scared, and hurt as she is, Lizzie can't help but feel a little impressed by Domino for a quick second.

"So you all know what happened on the last video," Gigi says to the camera with a mischievous grin. "Lizzie is back at Pemberley, visiting a certain CEO in his office alone. And now I bet they're probably going crazy at each other…or they could still be on opposite sides of the- hey Lizzie what are you…? Oh my god, are you cry-" Lizzie paused the video. She knew what came after and didn't need to repeat it again so soon.

Charlotte, who was remaining quiet the entire time, finally spoke up, "Lizzie, are you alright? You can still take down the video even if it's been up there for a bit."

"It's ok, Char, well, I mean, it's too late. It's up there and plenty of viewers have seen it now. I-I…..as much as this bothers me, it's still the least of my worries."

"Lizzie, what happened? I mean, besides this fight, what was going on?"

"I don't know, Charlotte, I just don't know." Lizzie closed her eyes. She need to escape this city, it was all too much for her. "Charlotte, is it ok if I come visit you? Like now?"


	19. Chapter 17 (part 3)

**A/N: This is by far the longest installment of this series and I can happily say that there will be not more parts to this chapter! (three is enough as is) I'm sorry for all the spelling and grammar mistakes- my head is mush. Please review! I don't own P&P or LBD so...yeah.**

* * *

Darcy stood outside the glass doors of Pemberley for a very long time. For a day like today, it would appear to be a normal thing since it was a beautiful outside, but to him, it was by far the worst day ever.

It wasn't until Gigi came up to him and put her hand on his arm, making him snap out of his trance of sorrow, hurt, and thought. He was still staring in the direction the trolley that carried Lizzie away.

"William, we need to talk. Can we go back to your office?"

Darcy contemplated this for a while but eventually decided it might help him if he made sense of all the events. He turned to face his younger sister, giving her a hard look as he shook his head into a slow nod. She snaked her arm into his and led him inside the office building.

As the Darcy siblings walked back to the elevators, William noticed all of his employees were giving him concerned, or perplexed, or apologetic looks. Sometimes all three in one. His heart faltered too much to reprehend them and retorted to blushing uncomfortably at all the attention. Gigi saved him from more pain and said to all in the lobby,

"Excuse me, I was always told it was rude to stare. Please continue on with your work."

The employees, looking embarrassed at themselves, immediately went back to their work.

Once in his office, Gigi sat William down on one of the couches in the middle of the room. William was inspecting the coffee table intently as he was lost in his agonizing thoughts. Gigi cleared her throat and softly said,

"William, what happened with Caroline? That's completely out of character for both of you and I know you don't have any romantic feelings for her. I just don't understand how that could ever happen."

"Well I certainly can now," Darcy said bitterly. "She _knew_ Lizzie was coming today. She _knew_ that Lizzie would be visiting me in my office, I just don't understand how she knew."

Darcy starts to recall the story from the beginning, the knock on his office door.

* * *

"Come in," he said both nervously and excitedly, expecting it to be Lizzie. The shock on his face was apparent when it turned out to be another female, Caroline Lee.

"Oh, Caroline, I wasn't expecting a visit from you. What a surprise," Darcy pronounced with dry politeness. It really was a surprise; just an unexpected, unappreciated one.

"Yes well William, I thought it would be nice if we could chat," was all Caroline said as she glided her way over to him, giving him a seductive look. Or, well, an attempt at a seductive look. Whatever it was confused Darcy greatly and made him feel uncomfortable.

"Very well then. What would you like to chat about?" Darcy asked cautiously.

Caroline moved behind his desk but only leaned against the side of the drawers to the right. They were close, yes, but still an appropriate distance to having a normal conversation.

"Us, William Darcy. You and I."

Darcy, knowing very well that Caroline was known to have romantic feelings for him, did not like where this was going.

"What about that?" Darcy blinked rapidly and shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He glanced at her face and noticed the blurriness in her eyes, had she been drinking? At ten in the morning?

She slowly responded, trying to appear sexual once more, "What's between us. Why we aren't already a couple. People think we'd be great together; you and me, William. So why aren't we?" He had backed away from his desk before, in case he needed to make a quick run for it, but now she moved into that space between him and the desk. Cornering him in the chair, she put either hand on the armrests.

Nope. He did not like this at all.

Grabbing each of her wrists very delicately, he removed her hands from his chair and said, "Listen, Caroline. The only people to ever think that are my Aunt and perhaps yourself. If you do, I cannot say I can reciprocate those feelings. Surely you must understand."

"Oh surely, I cannot," Caroline responded. While he was pushing her arms back, she grabbed onto his hands and intertwined their fingers. "We both know deep down you have very strong feelings for me."

Darcy's pulse was rising and he began to sweat profusely. He pulled his hands out of hers and rested them spread out on his lap. "Caroline, we both know my affection is centered around another person."

Darcy's chin was pulled in so far and he felt his bowtie starting to strangle him. Caroline tried harder for him to break his stubborn attitude and moved to sit in his lap. She was sitting on his sprawled out hands, making his unable to use them. He was as stiff as a board.

Not. Enjoying. This. At. All.

"Oh please, William. She will never love you. If you thought there was anything between you two, it was simply faked upon her end. She just wants a way out of her filthy poverty. This is why you and I should remain together, so you can see beyond her for someone who isn't using you." She placed her hands on his chest. How many lines Caroline crossed, he didn't know. But saying Lizzie didn't love him back and was using his was one too many for him to handle.

"No, she's not. I am unsure of what her feelings are towards me but she most certainly is not usin-" before he could finish the sentence, her lips were then smashed into his open mouth. He pulled his head back in protest.

"Caroline, no. Stop it."

She tasted like whisky. It was disgusting. He continued to squirm around, attempting to tell her to get off of him and to not let her kiss him. Darcy didn't want to be forceful with her; he knew very well of the consequences of males using their physical advantages on the opposing sex. Being in that situation was never reputable.

Her mouth was half on his, half on his cheek, sucking, when there was a knock on the door and it opened. His rapidly beating heart couldn't have fallen faster when he saw Lizzie. A wave of guilt washed over him, engulfing him and threatening to drown him then and there. Caroline looked over her shoulder and smirked at Lizzie. Darcy had to contain himself from pushing him off her with all his might.

"Oh, ummm sorry for….intruding. I'll just leave. Now." Lizzie looked mortified….and hurt? Darcy couldn't pinpoint what else was there but it definitely was something. She sped out of the door frame.

"Wait! Lizzie, stop! Please, this isn't what it looks like!" Darcy called after her but Caroline was still on top of him. He refrained himself one too many times and now, with Lizzie running away from him, he broke his chivalry. He pushed Caroline off of him; not forceful enough to hurt her or anything of the sort, just enough to make him free. Caroline was thrown off guard by this and when he tried to maneuver around her to chase after Lizzie, she smacked him across the face, catching him off guard this time and causing him to fall back in his chair that rolled back into the wall behind him. Caroline ran off after Lizzie before Darcy could regroup himself.

* * *

By now, Darcy was standing up and pacing around the office while he told Gigi, still remaining on the couch, the story. His hands were tightly curled into fists and he was so mad that he slammed one of them into his desk, causing a stack of organized paperwork to fall off. Gigi knew it was best for him to let out his anger by himself and allowed him to continue on with his aperiodic outbreaks of hitting random objects around the room.

* * *

Darcy sat motionless in his chair, trying to make sense of what just happened. Furious, confused, guilty, broken, shattered, exploited…all of these emotions overcoming him at once. He's felt them all before, and even all of them at once a few times here and there. When his parents died, when he walked in on George and Gigi, when Lizzie chewed him up and spit him back out in front of the entire world to see….Darcy snapped out of it, he needed to stop Caroline from making any further damage with Lizzie.

He ran out of his office, past the confused looks given in the hallway, and down the stairwell. On the second floor, he slowed his pace and headed straight for Lizzie's closed door. Everyone on the floor was staring at it as though a bomb was about to explode and when he entered their view, they looked at him the same way. He could hear Caroline yell,

"Like you said, she actually approves of us. She will come around when I have to tell her this was the consequence to keep you and your filthy poor hands away. I'll do whatever it takes to keep you from joining any relationship between William and you. Frankly, I think he enjoyed it as much as I did. Built up tension, I suppose."

Darcy stopped in his tracks for a moment. He didn't enjoy it, not even the smallest part of him. And for her to directly insult Lizzie was making his blood boil even more. Realizing all eyes are on him now, he tried to make himself presentable when entering the room, showing that he will be professional. It wasn't until what Lizzie says that made him gain the courage to enter the warzone without knocking,

"Unfortunately for your plan, if I do have the opportunity to be in a relationship with William Darcy, I believe that turning it away would be too hasty. In fact, maybe I will accept. All is fair in love and war, is it not?"

However, after seeing Caroline storm out and seeing how hurt Lizzie still looked, he couldn't find the courage to tell her how he really feels about her. Let alone, allowing himself to stay strong against her interruptions and not allowing her go so easily.

* * *

"I'm so stupid," William finishes tell his sister his recount of the events. "I should've been more forceful with Caroline or more direct with Lizzie."

"William that is not your fault. If you did anything more to Caroline, you would've gotten in legal trouble. And Lizzie was so inflexible, even you wouldn't be able to make her stop to listen to you."

Darcy considered this for a while, leaning on the corner of his now unorganized desk. He says with a soft voice,

"Well it's too late now, for good. She doesn't want anything to do with me ever again. Looks like Caroline got what she wanted."

Gigi cocked her head to the side. "Actually, she really didn't, William. She couldn't manage to win you over, she wasn't able to convince Lizzie to never join a relationship with you….but she did manage to get Lizzie to express her feelings about you. Besides the separation now, this really did sort've back fire on her."

"Wait, she managed to make Lizzie do what?" Darcy thought he didn't hear properly.

"Lizzie said some things about you, William. Things that I highly recommend that you hear. For once, not by me though." Gigi gave her brother a faint smile as he stared at the door. "Trust me, you'll want to hear them."

So when Lizzie walked in on Caroline and him, she really could've felt hurt. That really could've been sorrow outlined across her face. Darcy's heart, for the millionth time in the past hour or so, took another blow. He had really hurt her and he had really ruined their chances at being together.

Gigi noticed her older brother was seeing this more negative than positive. She tried to help guide him in the right direction,

"You need to watch that video, and you need to go find her."

"What? Why would I do that?" Darcy looked at his sister incredulously. "Besides, she would never post something like this online….This, for once, was too much, even for Lizzie Bennet."

"Not for Domino, though." Darcy's face took on the expression of realization. "Yea, don't you remember? I was originally recording with Domino. The video is probably getting thousands of views as we speak."

"Gigi, that was very wrong of you to do that," Darcy takes on his lecturing ways.

"William, I didn't know _this_ was going to end _this_ way! How would I have known not to use Domino?"

Darcy couldn't argue with that and just stared at the floor. He needed to watch the video, however he wasn't going to chase after Lizzie; not after causing her so much pain.

"You're not going to go find her, huh?" Gigi looked at him in disbelief.

"No, I'm not. I've caused her enough pain as it is. She doesn't need any more from me _ever_ again."

"You need to apologize to her though! You can't end things on such a terrible note! William, just watch the video. I think if you see the full conversation, you'll get a different viewpoint from it."

"Oh yeah? And what would that be?"

"Hope."


	20. Chapter 18

**A/N: Guys, this is pathetic, I know. 2 weeks wait is terrible, I'm so sorry. I intend to finish most of this story in these next couple of days. My original plan was to finish before the series ended itself but...**

**This is short, but I have half of the next chapter done so that may be up soon as well.**

* * *

It was pointless for Darcy to be at Pemberley if he wasn't going to be productive. It was also pointless for him to go home since Gigi and Fitz would still check up on him every 30 minutes or so, even at home. A part of him also wanted him to stay, just in case Lizzie would come back to hear him out. He stayed at work, even if he knew the chances of her coming back were slim.

Darcy rewatched the video a good twenty times in one hour. Regardless if it was the first time he played it or if it was the nineteenth after, the discussion was always new to him. New emotions, new thoughts, new questions. Lizzie said she loved him. On camera. For the world to see- for him to see. Darcy's heart fluttered and sunk, and swollen, and shriveled every single time. More than once, he paused the video and repeated that specific part over, and over, and over. Sinking back in his chair, Darcy closed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair.

He didn't know it was possible to feel slightly happy while feeling like the most terrible person in world until today. Yet again, he didn't know most things he felt were possible until he met Lizzie.

Darcy had to see her again, he had to clear things up. The only issue was that he had no idea where she was in the world. Did she go home? Is she still in San Francisco? If so, where in San Francisco?

He decided it was best that this time he wouldn't use his private investigators…It felt too stalker-ish to him.

But this was not a conversation to have on the phone; calling was out of the question.

If he did see her again, what was he going to say? Would she even let him talk? How would she respond?

Could they work this out?

Would they work this out?

Clenching and unclenching his fists, he decided it was best to wait, even if he didn't want too. Waiting to figure out something to say and waiting for her next video to see how she was. Visiting her was in the question , but for the time being Darcy just wanted to know how much she hated him again.

Gigi and Fitz reentered the room for the tenth time today and sat at the chairs across his desk.

"Still watching the video, huh?" Fitz asked him solemnly.

Darcy replied with a small shake of the head, knowing very well where this conversation was going. They were going to convince him to chase after her but this time he promises he won't budge.

"Listen man, we know how bad this is hurting you and hurting Lizzie. We've been texting her…"

Darcy looked up at his friend. He didn't want them meddling but he couldn't help wanting to know what was going on in her head.

"…but she hasn't responded at all. Maybe she's on a plane, we're not sure." Both Fitz and Darcy looked to the ground.

Gigi picked up where Fitz left off, "So that's why we sent her a text on what we're going to tell you now." Darcy shifted his gaze to his younger sister.

"We're staying out of this. Fitz and I aren't going to trap you two into any more corners. We understand that your pain is beyond our control and we don't want it to potentially get worse. Lizzie and you should know the best about staying out of things, since you guys did the same to Bing and Jane. And we decided we're not going influence either of you two at all. Every decision you make is your own, William. You're an adult and this is your love life."

Well this was unexpected.

"Thank you Gigi, Fitz," Darcy could only manage this.

"If you need anything Darcy, we're literally two floors down or just a call away."

With forced smiles, they left the office. Now all Darcy had to do was wait for the next video with his terrifying thoughts, however long that may be.

* * *

Charlotte picked Lizzie up from the bus station at nine-thirty at night. Surprisingly enough, it wasn't hard finding a last minute ticket to L.A by bus. The actual ride itself was the only reason she got there so late at night. Once Lizzie arrived to her destination, the two ladies hugged each other from their long-time-no-see. Charlotte finally broke the silence saying,

"Come on bestie, let's go home to eat ice cream and watch any Colin Firth movie of your choice."


	21. Chapter 19

**A/N: Ok guys, I will finish this. I have the general idea on how too...it just may be longer than I expected. As always, I don't own P&P or LBD and I apologize for all the mistakes that will most likely be in here.**

* * *

It was Monday of the next week. Lizzie didn't post a video on the last Thursday, thinking the one on Wednesday was enough to take its place. She really wasn't in the mood for shooting another video with everything going on and all the feelings she's had since. She sent out a tweet saying she wasn't going to post a video. The response was mainly follower's feeling disappointed and yelling at Darcy/Caroline (and sometimes Lizzie as well) but really, Lizzie wasn't in the mood for reading fan's comments either.

She was still staying with Charlotte for the time being. Remaining with her number one bestie and avoiding her mother's questions as to why she returned from Pemberley was comfort that was greatly needed. Lizzie went with Charlotte to Collins & Collins during the weekdays as she attempted to do her final research of Pemberley Digital online. Besides, being in the apartment alone would be very lonely.

During the hours they weren't at Collins & Collins, Charlotte and Lizzie remained at home, watching many Colin Firth movies and eating lots of ice cream or chocolate. Lizzie cried a bit. As much as she didn't want too, she couldn't help it sometimes. The movies got to her head, she would blame.

She had ignored Fitz and Gigi's texts originally. However, when she received the one about them not interfering anymore, she did respond with a simple, "_thank you._" The message sparked a short conversation saying,

"_How are you doing? Is everything ok?_"

"_I'm fine. I'll be ok._"

"_Cheer up, please._"

"_Will do._"

There wasn't a response after and Lizzie just assumed they were still sticking to their non-interference.

Lizzie also received a lot of texts and calls from Lydia, saying that she needed to hear Darcy out. As much as she was willing to do to strengthen her relationship with her sister, Lizzie couldn't find the energy or the desire to reach out to Darcy and to talk about what went on. Lydia noticed this and decided to respect her older sister's decisions and decided to stop begging her to talk to him. After all, she understood very well what it was like to have your heart broken.

Setting up her camera in the office she shared with Charlotte at Collins & Collins, Lizzie determined that the quickest way to get over her feelings for Darcy was starting a closure. She would address her video of the day to Darcy, but only thank him for what he did to save Lydia. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Hello, Internet. It's been an interesting couple of weeks recently, huh?" Lizzie forced an over-peppy smile.

"I'm sorry about no video on Thursday; with the video on Wednesday and the….change of scenery now," Lizzie motioned to the room around her, "I was a bit too busy to make another video."

"I'm not going to discuss any topics that pertain to last Wednesday. As much of these videos are about that _part_ of my life, I just can't bring myself to expressing any of my thoughts about it with the internet, for _anyone_ to see. I know you guys really care about me, I promise you all that I am fine. I just need some space." Lizzie gives another forced smile but less much weaker.

"What I am going to be talking about are the things I was meaning to say." She takes a big breath. "My name is Lizzie Bennet, and I just want to say thank you to William Darcy." Lizzie looked down at her lap. It was apparent, even to the camera, that it stung when saying his name out loud.

"Darcy, thank you for everything you did for Lydia." Lizzie clearly intended to address him directly until the end of the video. She looked solidly at the camera but the sadness in her eyes was still able to be seen. "I was planning on telling you this before but…things happened. What you did was so kind and considerate and not expected from us. My family cannot thank you enough and our gratitude will always be there. I'm so sorry that any of us thought of you differently than kind and generous. I can understand as to why you wouldn't want to be associated with me anymore. Thank you, and goodbye, Darcy."

Lizzie turned off the camera.

Once she was done editing the video, she sent Gigi a text saying,

"_Please make sure your brother sees today's video. Thank you for everything you've done and goodbye._"

* * *

When Gigi slipped into his office, he already had his headphones in and was staring firmly at the computer screen. She didn't have to tell him to watch today's episode since, judging by his face, he was already halfway through it. To anyone besides the few that knew him so well, his face would have appeared to be unreadable. To Gigi, it was pretty evident that he was trying to make coherent-ness of his thoughts. As quietly as she came, she left to leave him to his thoughts and decided to go watch the video for herself.

So what Darcy had done was in fact enough to drive her away; Lizzie had run away to LA to be with Charlotte. Clearly, she didn't want to be bothered by him, didn't want the chance of running into him to be a possibility. Darcy could still see the hurt in her eyes, however. This was apparent, even to him. Maybe, if he did go to Collins & Collins to see her once more, she would listen. She would listen to his apology and perhaps even his explanation. All he wanted was to let her know how sorry he was.

And that he still loved her, immensely. But let's not ruin things even more here.

He had an issue with a few things she had said. For instance, what did she mean when saying, "I can understand as to why you wouldn't want to be associated with me anymore?" Where did she get that idea? From what she had seen in his office? Did she believe he didn't love her anymore and had moved on?

That was utterly and completely not true. Darcy hoped that she didn't believe that but yet some part of him told him that she did, rather, believe that.

That needs to be changed. Her reasoning must be changed.

Another thing that stuck out to him was her goodbye. This isn't goodbye for him; as much as he has considered it in the past few days, he's not ready to say goodbye to Lizzie Bennet so soon.

He can't leave it like that. If anything, he should be able to say goodbye as well.


	22. Chapter 20

**A/N: So close but yet so far. ;) Please read, review, favorite, follow, enjoy, all that jazz. I own nothin' of LBD or P&P and it stings a bit on the inside...I'll recover someday.**

* * *

"Screw it," Lizzie thought to herself. "My video schedule has been so off lately, adding another one on an off day won't be the end of the world."

It was now Wednesday and she wanted to film a last video here at Collins & Collins before she left to go home. As much as Lizzie loved staying with Charlotte, she felt it was time to move on and to wrap up her thesis. She found enough information about Pemberley online to complete her study; it wasn't as great as it could've been but it would have to do.

Lizzie also thought it was best that once she finished her thesis, she should end the vlogs. In her head, it only seemed appropriate since it was because of her thesis that made her start this little project in the first place. After a very lengthy discussion with Charlotte, they determined that when Lizzie turned in her thesis paper, she would turn off the camera for the last time. At least she had a week left to tie up any loose strings for her followers.

Turning on her camera, she started her next unscheduled video.

* * *

Darcy negotiated with himself over and over if he should fly out to see her. In the end, he couldn't resist himself. He needed to apologize for his terrible behavior, his discourtesy given, and for everything else that was wrong that he did. Most of all, he needed to say goodbye too.

Just like the night when he decided he was going to tell Lizzie Bennet that he was in love with her, Darcy couldn't sleep because he was lost in contemplation. When the clock struck 3:00 in the morning, he had finally determined that he was going to go see her and planned what he wanted to say.

Tuesday morning, he rearranged his calendar for that day and the next, cancelling meetings and calls and moving them to the following days. He assumed this trip was a one day event and promised himself once he took care of things between Lizzie and himself, he would return to his CEO duties for good. By Tuesday evening, he was packed and boarding the plane.

Driving to Collins & Collins on Wednesday, Darcy could feel the same nervousness he felt on Halloween a few months before. He thought he was a changed man but some things can never seem to change. Feeling nervous around Lizzie Bennet and giving her such profound declarations may be some of those unchanging things.

As he entered the office building, Darcy noticed he wasn't alone in the main lobby. Charlotte Lu and the receptionist were having a quiet conversation at the latter's desk with Charlotte's back turn towards him. The receptionist (Darcy had failed to remember her name) looked up to see who had entered and her voice trailed off as confusion sunk in on her face. Charlotte turned around to see the cause of the abrupt stop of their discussion and a realizing look soon registered on her face.

"Hey Katie, can I just send you my instructions via email? I think I need to take this…" Charlotte said, still watching Darcy walk stiffly towards them, chin tucked in.

"Yes, of course, Ms. Lu," Katie responded, adding the formal title because of the presence of their guest in the room.

"Mr. Darcy, what a surprise to see you here." Charlotte's face, however, showed no signs of surprise. "I believe my office is currently in use. May we continue our conversation in the conference room?"

Darcy knew very well who was using the office presently. He wasn't expecting having Charlotte as an obstacle in his race towards the person in said office but nevertheless he agreed. Nodding his head he tensely sputtered, "Umm, yes, very well. "

As they headed to the conference room, Charlotte walking briskly in the lead as Darcy trailed close behind, he couldn't help but stop his thinking of Lizzie as he wondered what Charlotte meant to discuss with him. Surely she must know he was not here on business terms again, right? It was evident that they were walking so fast through the rows of cubicles because they did not want to be seen. By Ricky Collins or Lizzie Bennet, he wasn't entirely sure. When they arrived to the room, she politely asked him to sit as she shut the door. Standing on the opposing side of the room, the table in between them, she began to speak until Darcy quickly cut her off,

"Charlotte, I didn't intend to visit Collins & Collins for business matters. Certainly, I would've called ahead-"

"Oh, I know."

Darcy stopped mid-sentence with his mouth hanging open. He blinked as he processed this information and shifted in his chair. Starting off once more, much slower though, he expressed his confusion,

"You do?"

"Yep," gave him a satisfied smirk while crossing her arms, "I know very well that you came here to see Lizzie. It's about time you came; even I was starting to think your feelings had changed."

"You…" Darcy began but couldn't manage to get anything else out. He blinked rapidly once more.

"As busy as I may be here, I always have enough time to catch up on my number one bestie's love life every Monday and Thursday."

She added, "Well, maybe not every Monday, Thursday. Her schedule has been rather off lately."

"So you believe I never meant to do that?" Darcy finally managed to get out.

"Yes, it's pretty obvious you still love her." Charlotte was very amused with this conversation so far. She sat down across from him.

"Is it?" Darcy could feel his cheeks growing hotter.

"Well, you are here, are you not?" Another satisfied smirk.

Darcy tried to give his faint smile as he stared out the window. His face turned serious as he looked back at her and said,

"I never meant to hurt Lizzie. Caroline somehow knew she was arriving that day, from the videos I presume, and intentionally came into my office before Lizzie entered. She had just started to act… inappropriate seconds before, not giving me enough time to react and attempt to move her off of me. Her timing is certainly spotless….as well as Lizzie's, unfortunately. I just- I only feel it is right of me to tell her how sorry I am for that and everything else involved as well. I completely understand if she would want me out of her life for good and I will respect her decision."

"I believe you, Darcy. I know that your intentions with my best friend have never meant to lead her on. I can't really tell you how things will play out in there because even I don't know what will happen. All I ask is that you are direct with her, say what you want to say and she will too. Of course, you know this pretty well by now. But we both know things have changed, you both are very different from yourselves in October. Be sure to change her reasons."

Darcy took this into great consideration. "I will try. Thank you." He got up to leave.

As Darcy reached for the doorknob, Charlotte called out, "Oh and one more thing- good luck."

Darcy nodded his thanks and headed down the hall. As much as he has changed, it so very ironic how little else has likewise. The scenery's the same, the nervousness, anxiety, sweaty palms, fast heartbeat, and his feelings for her-all the same. The only things different are him, the purpose for coming, and maybe, perhaps, even Lizzie.

He couldn't help thinking about what if he tries again with his confession of his feelings towards her. Darcy has the hope and the desire to do so but he's so afraid of what she'll say that he's not confident if he could muster up the courage to put everything on the line once more. The door is open and Darcy finds himself in the door frame, frozen and staring at the sight in front of him. He sees Lizzie addressing her camera, her back facing him. Maybe some things just don't change at all.

He knocked on the open door, regardless.

"Excuse me, Lizzie."


	23. Chapter 21

**A/N: ****Patience is a virtue. ;) This was really difficult to write- I wasn't sure of what they should say, if I was missing anything involved in the story (turns out, I missed a few originally), and I wanted this to be similar to ep. 98 but not exact. I'm sure there are quotes here and there from that episode but I still hope this continued to remain to be a different twist. I'll probably write a few more chapters after this, just don't expect them to be updated anytime soon, life****'s busy. I don't own P&P or LBD, in case you didn't notice. Please review and enjoy! :)**

* * *

"Darcy." Lizzie breathed out as she immediately stood up at the sound of his voice. She was just telling her viewers she was waiting for a special someone to come to say goodbye to them at Collins & Collins. She was talking about Charlotte. Definitely Charlotte.

"Wha…what are you doing here?" She was staring at him in disbelief. Darcy clearly saw the shock and anxiety sketched on her face. He took it as a small victory that it wasn't anger or dejection and cautiously proceeds.

"I need to speak with you," Darcy said as he closed the door. He paused and looked at Lizzie, who was returning the look. They both knew the last time their conversation began like this and in this specific location, neither partaker felt very satisfied at the end. They both instantly reminded themselves that they were a better person since and that they had changed for the good. Therefore, history won't repeat itself.

Right?

"Darcy I'm not sure if this is a good ide-"

"Lizzie, I have to explain myself. You deserve to know the truth and I want you to know it. I need you to know it."

In her head, Lizzie agreed that she needed the truth. She wanted it just as badly.

"Ok," She looked at the camera and motioned to it. "You probably want this off-"

"No. I believe it would be best for your viewers to know as well. Just as yourself, they were left hanging and I need to fix that. Shall we sit?"

They both sat down in front of the camera, just as awkward as they were the first time they were being recorded. Darcy glances at the camera for a moment but turns to settle his gaze on Lizzie, who continues to return it with sadness forming in her eyes. He begins,

"Last week-"

"Listen, you really don't have to. I understand-"

"You don't though," Darcy retorted quickly with a pained look. "You don't. I'm sorry for being so harsh, but what went on in there….the only thing you walked in on was Caroline misleading both of us. Caroline and I are not together; I've never thought of our relationship exceeding friendship previously. My feelings towards her have never been more than that."

"Then why…?" Lizzie began; a sudden relief was lifted off her chest.

"She knew you were coming. I believe she came to prevent us from doing anything, ahhh, she would not approve of." He didn't want to explain it much farther, afraid of what her reaction would be.

"Well, it worked," Lizzie finally said. Darcy shot her a look of curiosity, and she quickly explained, "I mean, I just wanted to thank you for what you did and allowing me back at Pemberley." Darcy's hopes fell down once more. He just nodded in return, staring at his clasped hands.

Lizzie picked up when he didn't seem to have anything to input, "Speaking of… Thank you, so much, for what you've done for Lydia. My family cannot thank you enough. If there's any way we can repay you-"

"Your thanks is enough. I didn't intend to do this so your family could be in debt to me, I didn't even do it for them." Lizzie gave him the confused look this time. "I did it for you."

"Oh." Lizzie wasn't sure what else to say. Did this mean he still cared for her?

"I-I couldn't stand to see you in so much pain. And I know you didn't want me to help anymore after providing the plane ticket so I ordered my men to remain anonymous, in hopes you wouldn't find out. I did, however, talk to Lydia to let her know of the status of her case. I requested that she wouldn't disclose who the third party was but, that was not the case." Darcy trailed away and focused his gaze once more on Lizzie.

"So you've been watching my videos?" Lizzie's heart sunk in her chest, realizing what she had mentioned on the video at Pemberley before Darcy walked in.

Darcy let out a sigh and straightened up in his chair. He couldn't help himself more, he needed to know.

"Yes, I have... Which brings me to another topic I've been neglecting myself to even consider but I cannot do so any longer, I need to know. Lizzie, while your video at Pemberley that Wednesday made me feel every possible form of self-loathing, guilt, and sorrow… I also happened to sense hope arise in me. You, ummm, said some things when disputing against Caroline that made me wonder… Do you feel differently than the way you did in the fall? I don't, that is to say, my feelings have not changed. I feel as though they are stronger than before. So if you believe doing those things for Lydia or coming here now to talk to you is just me fixing my mistakes, it is not just that. I have never wanted to see you hurt; I've always just cared about your happiness."

Lizzie didn't know it was possible for so much emotion to shock her speechless. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked at him, mouth slightly ajar. Darcy assumed the complete opposite of what she felt and instantly crashed inside, utterly dejected once more. He began to leave,

"Oh. I suppose I did misinterpret your feelings once more. I'm sorry to have caused you any pain or made you feel uncomfortable. I'll be out of your hair for good now."

He turned to leave.

"William, wait," Lizzie urgently said, reaching out for his hand to pull him back down to his seat to face her. As he was turning towards her, she moved her other hand to his face to guide him towards her; guide his mouth to hers as she kissed him.

Now it was Darcy's turn to feel the shock. His stiffness didn't last long, though, for he was returning the desire equivalent, if not more, to what Lizzie was giving him. He moved his free hand that wasn't entangled with Lizzies to her lower back. For months he wondered what her lips felt like, and now he finally had the answer. He finally had everything because he finally had her.

After a while, they stopped going after each other's faces. They had within this time, moved much more closer to each other and now settled in each other's arms.

Lizzie, grinning with delight, said "I meant what I said in that video. As angry and hurt as I was, I really meant it. Looking back on it since, I knew it was all true which sometimes would hurt even more." Darcy stroked some stray hairs from her vision to behind her ear. "William, I would happily start a relationship with you if I have the chance. I can gladly say my reasons for hating you have changed and that I do think I'm in love with you."

Darcy, smiling as more broad than he ever had in years, could only go in for another kiss in response. He knew he had plenty of time and opportunities to do so but he couldn't help himself now. This kiss lasted a shorter time and he broke off saying,

"Well, Ms. Lizzie Bennet, would you do me the honor of attending dinner with me tonight? Of course, I must first visit a local hotel to book a room and to rearrange a few events on my calendar. I was not expecting, _this_, and I did not make further arrangements."

Lizzie just smiled bigger, "Of course Mr. William Darcy, it will be my pleasure." God, he loved the way his name rolled off her tongue.

"Very well then," Darcy's smile was almost a showing teeth, "Now, I do believe we have withheld Charlotte from her work long enough and given your viewers amply to see…" Darcy looks back to the camera and Lizzie followed his gaze and slightly laughed. Clearly, she forgot they were still being filmed.

"If you will excuse me, I have reservations to make, cancellations to do in addition, and you have editing to do." Darcy gave her a satisfied smirk and proceeded to give Lizzie a peck on the cheek, then a longer lasting brush on the lips and left the room.

Lizzie sat for a while, looking at the ground smiling, slightly laughing and finally reached for the camera.


End file.
